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THE YALE SHAKESPEARE 



Edited by 
Wilbur L. Cross Tucker Brooke 

WlLLARD HlGLEY DURHAM 



Published under the Direction 

of the 

Department of English, Yale University, 

on the Fund 

Given to the Yale University Press in 1917 

by the Members of the 

Kingsley Trust Association 

To Commemorate the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary 

of the Founding of the Society 



• : The Yale Shakespeare '. • 

THE FIRST PART OF 
KING HENRY THE SIXTH 

EDITED BY 

TUCKER BROOKE 




P^rvgc££9 



NEW HAVEN • YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS 

LONDON • HUMPHREY MILFORD 
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS • MCMXVIII 






Copyright, 1918 
By Yale University Press 



First published, December, 1918. 




FEB -8 1919 

©CU.5I2289 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The Text 1 

Notes ....... 106 

Appendix A. Sources of the Play . . 128 

Appendix B. The History of the Play . 133 

Appendix C. The Authorship of the Play 

I. Shakespeare's Concern in It . . 138 

II. The Author of the Original Play 

1. Marlowe? .... 147 

2. Greene? . . . .150 

3. Peele? . . . .151 

Appendix D. The Text of the Present Edi- 
tion . . . .154 

Appendix E. Suggestions for Collateral 

Reading . . .155 

Index of Words Glossed . . . .157 



[DRAMATIS PERSONS 

King Henry the Sixth 

Duke of Bedford, Uncle to the King, Regent of France 

Duke of Gloucester, Uncle to the King, and Protector 

Bkhop° F of E Winchester, \ Great-Uncles to the King 

Richard Plantagenet, Son of Richard, late Earl of Cam- 
bridge; afterwards Duke of York 

Duke of Somerset 

Earl of Warwick 

Earl of Salisbury 

Earl of Suffolk 

Lord Talbot, afterwards Earl of Shrewsbury 

John Talbot, his Son 

Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March 

Sir John Fastolfe 

Sir William Glansdale 

Sir Thomas Gargrave 

Sir William Lucy 

Vernon, of the White-Rose, or York, Faction 

Basset, of the Red-Rose, or Lancaster, Faction 

Woodvile, Lieutenant of the Tower 

Mayor of London 

A Lawyer of the Temple 

Lords, Warders of the Tower, Mortimer's Keepers, Heralds, 
Officers, Soldiers, Messengers, and Attendants 

Charles, Dauphin of France (legitimately, King Charles 

VII) 
Reignier, Duke of Anjou, and titular King of Naples 
Duke of Burgundy 
Duke of Alencon 
Bastard of Orleans 
Governor of Paris 

General of the French Forces in Bordeaux 
Master-Gunner of Orleans, and his Son 
An old Shepherd, Father to Joan la Pucelle 
Margaret, Daughter to Reignier 
Countess of Auvergne 

Joan la Pucelle, commonly called Joan of Arc 
French Herald, Sergeant, and Sentinels; Porter to the 

Countess of Auvergne; Fiends appearing to La Pucelle 

Scene: London and Westminster; various parts of France.] 



The First Part of Henry the Sixth 

ACT FIRST 

Scene One 

[Westminster Abbey] 

Dead March. 

Enter the Funeral of King Henry the Fifth, attended 
on by the Duke of Bedford, Regent of France; 
the Duke of Gloucester, Protector; the Duke of 
Exeter; Warwick; the Bishop of Winchester; 
and the Duke of Somerset [with Heralds, <£<?.]. 

Bed. Hung be the heavens with black, yield day to 
night ! 
Comets, importing change of times and states, 
Brandish your crystal tresses in the sky, 
And with them scourge the bad revolting stars, 
That have consented unto Henry's death ! 5 

King Henry the Fifth, too famous to live long! 
England ne'er lost a king of so much worth. 

Glo. England ne'er had a king until his time. 
Virtue he had, deserving to command: 9 

His brandish'd sword did blind men with his beams; 
His arms spread wider than a dragon's wings; 
His sparkling eyes, replete with wrathful fire, 12 

More dazzled and drove back his enemies 
Than mid-day sun fierce bent against their faces. 
What should I say? his deeds exceed all speech: 

The First Part, etc.; cf. n. 1 Hung . . . black; cf. n. 

10 his: its 



2 The First Part of 

He ne'er lift up his hand but conquered. 16 

Exe. We mourn in black: why mourn we not in 
blood? 
Henry is dead and never shall revive. 
Upon a wooden coffin we attend, 

And death's dishonourable victory . 20 

We with our stately presence glorify, 
Like captives bound to a triumphant car. 
What ! shall we curse the planets of mishap 
That plotted thus our glory's overthrow ? 24 

Or shall we think the subtle-witted French 
Conjurers and sorcerers, that, afraid of him, 
By magic verses have contriv'd his end? 

Win. He was a king bless'd of the King of 
kings. 28 

Unto the French the dreadful judgment-day 
So dreadful will not be as was his sight. 
The battles of the Lord of hosts he fought: 
The church's prayers made him so prosperous. 32 

Glo. The church ! where is it ? Had not churchmen 
pray'd, 
His thread of life had not so soon decay'd: 
None do you like but an effeminate prince, 
Whom like a school-boy you may over-awe. 36 

Win. Gloucester, whate'er we like thou art pro- 
tector, 
And lookest to command the prince and realm. 
Thy wife is proud; she holdeth thee in awe, 
More than God or religious churchmen may. 40 

Glo. Name not religion, for thou lov'st the flesh, 
And ne'er throughout the year to church thou go'st, 
Except it be to pray against thy foes. 

16 lift: lifted 



King Henry the Sixth, 7. i 3 

Bed. Cease, cease these jars and rest your minds 
in peace! 44 

Let's to the altar: heralds, wait on us: 
Instead of gold we'll offer up our arms, 
Since arms avail not, now that Henry's dead. 
Posterity, await for wretched years, 48 

When at their mothers' moist eyes babes shall suck, 
Our isle be made a marish of salt tears, 
And none but women left to wail the dead. 
Henry the Fifth! thy ghost I invocate: 52 

Prosper this realm, keep it from civil broils ! 
Combat with adverse planets in the heavens ! 
A far more glorious star thy soul will make, 
Than Julius Caesar, or bright — 56 

Enter a Messenger. 

Mess. My honourable lords, health to you all ! 
Sad tidings bring I to you out of France, 
Of loss, of slaughter, and discomfiture: 
Guyenne, Champagne, Rheims, Orleans, 60 

Paris, Gisors, Poitiers, are all quite lost. 

Bed. What sayst thou, man, before dead Henry's 
corse ? 
Speak softly ; or the loss of those great towns 
Will make him burst his lead and rise from death. 64 

Glo. Is Paris lost? is Roan yielded up? 
If Henry were recall'd to life again 
These news would cause him once more yield the 
ghost. 

Exe. How were they lost? what treachery was 
us'd? 68 

Mess. No treachery; but want of men and money. 
Among the soldiers this is muttered, 

50 marish: mar s h; cf. n. 60,61 Cf.n. 

64 lead: leaden wrappings 65 Roan: Rouen 



The First Part of 



That here you maintain several factions; 
And, whilst a field should be dispatch'd and 
fought, 72 

You are disputing of your generals. 
One would have lingering wars with little cost; 
Another would fly swift, but wanteth wings ; 
A third thinks, without expense at all, 76 

By guileful fair words peace may be obtain'd. 
Awake, awake, English nobility ! 
Let not sloth dim your honours new-begot: 
Cropp'd are the flower-de-luces in your arms; 80 

Of England's coat one half is cut away. 

Exe. Were our tears wanting to this funeral 
These tidings would call forth their flowing tides. 

Bed. Me they concern ; Regent I am of France. 84 
Give me my steeled coat: I'll fight for France. 
Away with these disgraceful wailing robes ! 
Wounds will I lend the French instead of eyes, 
To weep their intermissive miseries. 88 

Enter to them another Messenger. 

Sec. Mess. Lords, view these letters, full of bad 
mischance. 
France is revolted from the English quite, 
Except some petty towns of no import: 
The Dauphin Charles is crowned king in Rheims ; 92 
The Bastard of Orleans with him is join'd; 
Reignier, Duke of Anjou, doth take his part; 
The Duke of Alencon flieth to his side. Exit. 

Exe. The Dauphin crowned king! all fly to 
him ! 96 

71 several : separate 

72 field . . . dispatch'd: battle . . . arranged 

80 The fleurs de lys are plucked from your coat of arms 

88 intermissive: temporarily interrupted (but now to be renewed) 

92 Cf. n. 



King Henry the Sixth, I. i 



O ! whither shall we fly from this reproach ? 

Glo. We will not fly, but to our enemies' throats. 
Bedford, if thou be slack, I'll fight it out. 

Bed. Gloucester, why doubt'st thou of my forward- 
ness ? 100 
An army have I muster'd in my thoughts, 
Wherewith already France is overrun. 

Enter another Messenger. 

Third Mess. My gracious lords, to add to your 
laments, 
Wherewith you now bedew King Henry's hearse, 
I must inform you of a dismal fight 105 

Betwixt the stout Lord Talbot and the French. 

Win. What! wherein Talbot overcame? is 't so? 

Third Mess. O, no ! wherein Lord Talbot was o'er- 
thrown : 108 

The circumstance I'll tell you more at large. 
The tenth of August last this dreadful lord, 
Retiring from the siege of Orleans, 
Having full scarce six thousand in his troop, 112 

By three-and-twenty thousand of the French 
Was round encompassed and set upon. 
No leisure had he to enrank his men; 
He wanted pikes to set before his archers ; 116 

Instead whereof sharp stakes pluck'd out of hedges 
They pitched in the ground confusedly, 
To keep the horsemen off from breaking in. 
More than three hours the fight continued; 120 

Where valiant Talbot above human thought 
Enacted wonders with his sword and lance. 
Hundreds he sent to hell, and none durst stand him; 

110,111 Cf.n. 110 dreadful: redoubtable 

11*2 full scarce: scarce full, not quite 116 wanted pikes; cf. n. 



6 The First Part of 

Here, there, and everywhere, enrag'd he flew: 124 

The French exclaim'd the devil was in arms; 

All the whole army stood agaz'd on him. 

His soldiers, spying his undaunted spirit, 

A Talbot! A Talbot! cried out amain, 128 

And rush'd into the bowels of the battle. 

Here had the conquest fully been seal'd up, 

If Sir John Fastolfe had not play'd the coward. 

He, being in the vaward, — plac'd behind, 132 

With purpose to relieve and follow them, — 

Cowardly fled, not having struck one stroke. 

Hence grew the general wrack and massacre ; 

Enclosed were they with their enemies. 136 

A base Walloon, to win the Dauphin's grace, 

Thrust Talbot with a spear into the back; 

Whom all France, with their chief assembled strength, 

Durst not presume to look once in the face. 140 

Bed. Is Talbot slain? then I will slay myself, 
For living idly here in pomp and ease 
Whilst such a worthy leader, wanting aid, 
Unto his dastard foemen is betray'd. 144 

Third Mess. O no ! he lives ; but is took prisoner, 
And Lord Scales with him, and Lord Hungerford: 
Most of the rest slaughter'd or took likewise. 

Bed. His ransom there is none but I shall pay: 148 
I'll hale the Dauphin headlong from his throne; 
His crown shall be the ransom of my friend; 
Four of their lords I'll change for one of ours. 
Farewell, my masters ; to my task will I ; 152 

Bonfires in France forthwith I am to make, 
To keep our great Saint George's feast withal: 

124 flew; cf. n. 126 agaz'd on: astounded at 

131 Sir John Fastolfe; cf. n. 132 vaward, — plac'd behind; cf. n. 

136 with: by 148 Cf.n. 

154 Saint George's feast; cf. n. withal: therewith 



King Henry the Sixth, Z. i 



Ten thousand soldiers with me I will take, 

Whose bloody deeds shall make all Europe quake. 156 

Third Mess. So you had need; for Orleans is be- 
sieg'd; 
The English army is grown weak and faint; 
The Earl of Salisbury craveth supply, 
And hardly keeps his men from mutiny, 160 

Since they, so few, watch such a multitude. 

Exe. Remember, lords, your oaths to Henry sworn, 
Either to quell the Dauphin utterly, 
Or bring him in obedience to your yoke. 164 

Bed. I do remember it; and here take my leave, 
To go about my preparation. Exit Bedford. 

Glo. I'll to the Tower with all the haste I can, 
To view the artillery and munition; 168 

And then I will proclaim young Henry king. 

Exit Gloucester. 

Exe. To Eltham will I, where the young king is, 
Being ordain'd his special governor; 
And for his safety there I'll best devise. Exit. 

Win. Each hath his place and function to at- 
tend : 173 
I am left out; for me nothing remains. 
But long I will not be Jack-out-of-office. 
The king from Eltham I intend to steal, 176 
And sit at chiefest stern of public weal. Exit. 

162 your oaths; cf. n. 163 quell: destroy 170 Eltham; cf. n. 

177 at chiefest stern: in supreme control 



The First Part of 



Scene Two 

[France. Before Orleans] 

Sound a Flourish. 

Enter Charles, Alengon, and Reignier, marching with 
Drum and Soldiers. 

Char. Mars his true moving, even as in the heavens 
So in the earth, to this day is not known. 
Late did he shine upon the English side; 
Now we are victors; upon us he smiles. 4 

What towns of any moment but we have? 
At pleasure here we lie near Orleans ; 
Otherwhiles the famish'd English, like pale ghosts, 
Faintly besiege us one hour in a month. 8 

Alen. They want their porridge and their fat bull- 
beeves : 
Either they must be dieted like mules 
And have their provender tied to their mouths, 
Or piteous they will look, like drowned mice. 12 

Reig. Let's raise the siege: why live we idly here? 
Talbot is taken, whom we wont to fear: 
Remaineth none but mad-brain'd Salisbury, 
And he may well in fretting spend his gall ; 16 

Nor men nor money hath he to make war. 

Char. Sound, sound alarum ! we will rush on them. 
Now for the honour of the forlorn French ! 
Him I forgive my death that killeth me 20 

When he sees me go back one foot or fly. Exeunt. 

Here Alarum; they are beaten back by the English, 
•with great loss. 

Scene Two S. d. Flourish: trumpet blast 

1 Mars his true moving: Mars' exact movement; cf. n. 

7 Otherwhiles: at times 14 wont: were wont 

17 Nor: neither 18 alarum: call to arms 



King Henry the Sixth, I. ii 



Enter Charles, Alengon, and Reignier. 

Char. Who ever saw the like ? what men have I ! 
Dogs ! cowards ! dastards ! I would ne'er have fled 
But that they left me 'midst my enemies. 24 

Reig. Salisbury is a desperate homicide; 
He fighteth as one weary of his life: 
The other lords, like lions wanting food, 
Do rush upon us as their hungry prey. 28 

Alen. Froissart, a countryman of ours, records, 
England all Olivers and Rowlands bred 
During the time Edward the Third did reign. 
More truly now may this be verified; 32 

For none but Samsons and Goliases 
It sendeth forth to skirmish. One to ten ! 
Lean raw-bon'd rascals ! who would e'er suppose 
They had such courage and audacity? 36 

Char. Let's leave this town; for they are hare- 
brain'd slaves, 
And hunger will enforce them to be more eager: 
Of old I know them; rather with their teeth 
The walls they'll tear down than forsake the siege. 40 

Reig. I think, by some odd gimmors or device, 
Their arms are set like clocks, still to strike on; 
Else ne'er could they hold out so as they do. 
By my consent, we'll e'en let them alone. 44 

Alen. Be it so. 

Enter the Bastard of Orleans. 

Bast. Where's the prince Dauphin? I have news 

for him. 
Char. Bastard of Orleans, thrice welcome to us. 

28 hungry: stimulating hunger 

30 Olivers and Rowlands: knights like the best who followed Char- 
lemagne 33 Goliases: Goliaths (Golias is the Latin form) 
41 gimmors: mechanical joints 42 still: continually 



io The First Part of 

Bast. Methinks your looks are sad, your cheer 
appall'd: 48 

Hath the late overthrow wrought this offence? 

Be not dismay'd, for succour is at hand: 

A holy maid hither with me I bring, 

Which by a vision sent to her from heaven 52 

Ordained is to raise this tedious siege, 

And drive the English forth the bounds of France. 

The spirit of deep prophecy she hath, 

Exceeding the nine sibyls of old Rome; 56 

What's past and what's to come she can descry. 

Speak, shall I call her in? Believe my words, 

For they are certain and unfallible. 

Char. Go, call her in. [Exit Bastard.] But first, to 
try her skill, 60 

Reignier, stand thou as Dauphin in my place : 

Question her proudly; let thy looks be stern: 

By this means shall we sound what skill she hath. 

Enter Joan Pucelle [with Bastard]. 

Reig. Fair maid, is 't thou wilt do these wondrous 
feats ? 64 

Joan. Reignier, is 't thou that thinkest to beguile 
me? 
Where is the Dauphin? Come, come from behind; 
I know thee well, though never seen before. 
Be not amaz'd, there's nothing hid from me: 68 

In private will I talk with thee apart. 
Stand back, you lords, and give us leave a while. 
Reig. She takes upon her bravely at first dash. 
Joan. Dauphin, I am by birth a shepherd's daugh- 
ter, 72 
My wit untrain'd in any kind of art. 

48 cheer appall'd: mood dejected 56 nine sibyls; cf. n. 



King Henry the Sixth, I. ii 1 1 

Heaven and our Lady gracious hath it pleas'd 

To shine on my contemptible estate: 

Lo ! whilst I waited on my tender lambs, 76 

And to sun's parching heat display'd my cheeks, 

God's mother deigned to appear to me, 

And in a vision full of majesty 

Will'd me to leave my base vocation 80 

And free my country from calamity: 

Her aid she promis'd and assur'd success; 

In complete glory she reveal'd herself; 

And, whereas I was black and swart before, 84 

With those clear rays which she infus'd on me, 

That beauty am I bless'd with which you see. 

Ask me what question thou canst possible 

And I will answer unpremeditated: 88 

My courage try by combat, if thou dar'st, 

And thou shalt find that I exceed my sex. 

Resolve on this, thou shalt be fortunate 

If thou receive me for thy warlike mate. 92 

Char. Thou hast astonish'd me with thy high terms. 
Only this proof I'll of thy valour make, 
In single combat thou shalt buckle with me, 
And if thou vanquishest, thy words are true; 96 

Otherwise I renounce all confidence. 

Joan. I am prepar'd: here is my keen-edg'd sword, 
Deck'd with five flower-de-luces on each side; 
The which at Touraine, in Saint Katharine's church- 
yard, 100 
Out of a great deal of old iron I chose forth. 

Char. Then come, o' God's name ; I fear no woman. 

Joan. And, while I live, I'll ne'er fly from a man. 
Here they fight, and Joan la Pucelle overcomes. 

93 high terms: lofty language 95 buckle: contend 

99 Deck'd: adorned 



12 The First Part of 

Char, Stay, stay thy hands! thou art an Ama- 
zon, 104 
And fightest with the sword of Deborah. 

Joan. Christ's mother helps me, else I were too 

weak. 
Char. Whoe'er helps thee, 'tis thou that must help 
me: 
Impatiently I burn with thy desire; 108 

My heart and hands thou hast at once subdu'd. 
Excellent Pucelle, if thy name be so, 
Let me thy servant and not sovereign be; 
'Tis the French Dauphin sueth to thee thus. 112 

Joan. I must not yield to any rites of love, 
For my profession's sacred from abov°: 
When I have chased all thy foes from hence, 
Then will I think upon a recompense. 116 

Char. Meantime look gracious on thy prostrate 

thrall. 
Reig. My lord, methinks, is very long in talk. 
A len. Doubtless he shrives this woman to her 
smock ; 
Else ne'er could he so long protract his speech. 120 
Reig. Shall we disturb him, since he keeps no 

mean? 
A len. He may mean more than we poor men do 
know: 
These women are shrewd tempters with their tongues. 
Reig. My lord, where are you? what devise you 
on ? 124 

Shall we give over Orleans, or no? 

Joan. Why, no, I say, distrustful recreants ! 
Fight till the last gasp; I will be your guard. 

105 sword of Deborah; cf. n. 110 Pucelle; cf. n. 

121 mean: moderation 



King Henry the Sixth, I.ii 13 

Char. What she says, I'll confirm: we'll fight it 
out. 128 

Joan. Assign'd am I to be the English scourge. 
This night the siege assuredly I'll raise: 
Expect Saint Martin's summer, halcyon days, 
Since I have entered into these wars. 132 

Glory is like a circle in the water, 
Which never ceaseth to enlarge itself, 
Till by broad spreading it disperse to nought. 
With Henry's death the English circle ends; 
Dispersed are the glories it included. 137 

Now am I like that proud insulting ship 
Which Caesar and his fortune bare at once. 

Char. Was Mahomet inspired with a dove? 
Thou with an eagle art inspired then. 141 

Helen, the mother of great Constantine, 
Nor yet Saint Philip's daughters were like thee. 
Bright star of Venus, fall'n down on the earth, 
How may I reverently worship thee enough? 

Alen. Leave off delays and let us raise the 
siege. 146 

Reig. Woman, do what thou canst to save our 
honours ; 
Drive them from Orleans and be immortaliz'd. 

Char. Presently we'll try. Come, let's away about 
it: 
No prophet will I trust if she prove false. 150 

Exeunt. 

131 Saint Martin's summer; cf. n. 138, 139 Cf. n. 

140 Cf. n. 142 Cf. n. 143 Cf. n. 



14 The First Part of 

Scene Three 
[London. Before the Tower] 

Enter Gloucester, with his Serving-men [in blue 
coats]. 

Glo. I am come to survey the Tower this day; 
Since Henry's death, I fear, there is conveyance. 
Where be these warders that they wait not here? 
Open the gates ! 'Tis Gloucester that calls. 4 

[Servants knock.] 
First Ward. [Within.] Who's there that knocks so 

imperiously ? 
First Serv. It is the noble Duke of Gloucester. 
Sec. Ward. [Within.] Whoe'er he be, you may not 

be let in. 
First Serv. Villains, answer you so the Lord Pro- 
tector ? 8 
First Ward. [Within.] The Lord protect him! so 
we answer him: 
We do not otherwise than we are will'd. 

Glo. Who willed you? or whose will stands but 
mine? 
There's none protector of the realm but I. 12 

Break up the gates, I'll be your warrantize: 
Shall I be flouted thus by dunghill grooms ? 

Gloucester's men rush at the Tower gates, and Wood- 
vile the Lieutenant speaks within. 

Wood. What noise is this? what traitors have we 

here ? 
Glo. Lieutenant, is it you whose voice I hear? 
Open the gates ! here's Gloucester that would 

enter. 17 

2 conveyance: underhand dealing 

13 Break up : open forcibly warrantize: surety 



King Henry the Sixth, I. Hi is 

Wood. [Within.] Have patience, noble Duke; I 
may not open; 
The Cardinal of Winchester forbids: 
From him I have express commandment 20 

That thou nor none of thine shall be let in. 

Glo. Faint-hearted Woodvile, prizest him 'fore me? 
Arrogant Winchester, that haughty prelate, 
Whom Henry, our late sovereign, ne'er could 
brook ? 24 

Thou art no friend to God or to the king: 
Open the gates, or I'll shut thee out shortly. 

First Serv. Open the gates unto the Lord Pro- 
tector ; 
Or we'll burst them open, if that you come not 
quickly. 28 

Enter to the Protector at the Tower gates Winchester 
and his men in tawny coats. 

Win. How now, ambitious Humphrey ! what means 

this? 
Glo. Peel'd priest, dost thou command me to be 

shut out? 
Win. I do, thou most usurping proditor, 
And not protector, of the king or realm. 32 

Glo. Stand back, thou manifest conspirator, 
Thou that contriv'dst to murder our dead lord ; 
Thou that giv'st whores indulgences to sin: 
I'll canvass thee in thy broad cardinal's hat, 36 

If thou proceed in this thy insolence. 

Win. Nay, stand thou back; I will not budge a 
foot: 

19 Cardinal; cf. n. 22 Woodvile; cf. n. 

30 Peel'd: tonsured 31 proditor: betrayer 

34 contriv'dst: plottedst; cf. n. 35 Cf. n. 
36 canvass: toss, as in a canvas sheet 



16 The First Part of 

This be Damascus, be thou cursed Cain, 
Te slay thy brother Abel, if thou wilt. 40 

Glo. I will not slay thee, but I'll drive thee back: 
Thy scarlet robes as a child's bearing-cloth 
I'll use to carry thee out of this place. 

Win. Do what thou dar'st; I'll beard thee to thy 

face. 44 

Glo. What ! am I dar'd and bearded to my face ? — 

Draw, men, for all this privileged place; 

Blue coats to tawny coats. Priest, beware your 

beard; 
I mean to tug it and to cuff you soundly. 48 

Under my feet I stamp thy cardinal's hat: 
In spite of pope or dignities of church, 
Here by the cheeks I'll drag thee up and down. 

Win. Gloucester, thou'lt answer this before the 
pope. 52 

Glo. Winchester goose ! I cry a rope ! a rope ! 
Now beat them hence ; why do you let them stay ? 
Thee I'll chase hence, thou wolf in sheep's array. 
Out, tawny coats ! out, scarlet hypocrite ! 56 

Here Gloucester's men beat out the Cardinal's men, 
and enter in the hurly-burly the Mayor of Lon- 
don and his Officers. 
May. Fie, lords ! that you, being supreme magis- 
trates, 
Thus contumeliously should break the peace! 

Glo. Peace, mayor! thou know'st little of my 
wrongs : 
Here's Beaufort, that regards nor God nor King, 
Hath here distrain'd the Tower to his use. 61 

Win. Here's Gloucester, a foe to citizens; 

39 Damascus; cf. n. 42 bearing-cloth: christening robe 

53 Winchester goose: cant name of a foul disease 
61 distrain'd: confiscated 



King Henry the Sixth, I. Hi 17 

One that still motions war and never peace, 

O'ercharging your free purses with large fines, 64 

That seeks to overthrow religion 

Because he is protector of the realm, 

And would have armour here out of the Tower, 

To crown himself king and suppress the prince. 68 

Glo. I will not answer thee with words, but blows. 

Here they skirmish again. 

May. Nought rests for me, in this tumultuous 

strife 

But to make open proclamation. 

Come, officer: as loud as e'er thou canst; 72 

Cry. 

Off. 'All manner of men, assembled here in 
arms this day, against God's peace and the 
king's, we charge and command you, in his high- 
ness' name, to repair to your several dwelling- 
places; and not to wear, handle, or use, any 
sword, weapon, or dagger, henceforward, upon 
pain of death.' 80 

Glo. Cardinal, I'll be no breaker of the law; 

But we shall meet and break our minds at large. 
Win. Gloucester, we will meet ; to thy cost, be sure : 

Thy heart-blood I will have for this day's work. 
May. I'll call for clubs if you will not away. 

This cardinal's more haughty than the devil. 86 

Glo. Mayor, farewell: thou dost but what thou 

mayst. 
Win. Abominable Gloucester! guard thy head; 

For I intend to have it ere long. 

Exeunt [severally, Gloucester and Winchester, 
with their Serving -men], 

63 motions: advocates 82 break: express {with a pun) 

85 clubs: the rallying cry to summon apprentices and other citizens 



is The First Part of 

May. See the coast clear'd, and then we will de- 
part. 90 
Good God! these nobles should such stomachs bear; 
I myself fight not once in forty year. Exeunt. 

Scene Four 

[France. Before Orleans] 

Enter the Master-Gunner of Orleans and his Boy. 

M. Gun. Sirrah, thou know'st how Orleans is be- 
sieg'd, 
And how the English have the suburbs won. 

Son. Father, I know; and oft have shot at them, 
Howe'er unfortunate I miss'd my aim. 4 

M. Gun. But now thou shalt not. Be thou rul'd 
by me: 
Chief master-gunner am I of this town; 
Something I must do to procure me grace. 
The prince's espials have informed me 8 

How the English, in the suburbs close entrench'd, 
Wont through a secret gate of iron bars 
In yonder tower to overpeer the city, 
And thence discover how with most advantage 
They may vex us with shot or with assault. 13 

To intercept this inconvenience, 
A piece of ordnance 'gainst it I have plac'd; 
And fully even these three days have I watch'd 
If I could see them. Now, boy, do thou watch, 17 
For I can stay no longer. 
If thou spy'st any, run and bring me word; 
And thou shalt find me at the Governor's. Exit. 

Son. Father, I warrant you; take you no care; 21 
I'll never trouble you if I may spy them. Exit. 

8 espials: spies 11 overpeer: look down upon 



King Henry the Sixth, I. iv 19 

Enter Salisbury and Talbot on the turrets, with [Sir 
William Glansdale, Sir Thomas Gargrave, and] 
Others. 

Sal. Talbot, my life, my joy! again return'd! 
How wert thou handled being prisoner? 24 

Or by what means got'st thou to be releas'd, 
Discourse, I prithee, on this turret's top. 

Tal. The Duke of Bedford had a prisoner 
Call'd the brave Lord Ponton de Santrailles; 28 

For him I was exchang'd and ransomed. 
But with a baser man at arms by far 
Once in contempt they would have barter'd me: 
Which I disdaining scorn'd, and craved death 32 

Rather than I would be so vile-esteem'd. 
In fine, redeem'd I was as I desir'd. 
But, O! the treacherous Fastolfe wounds my heart: 
Whom with my bare fists I would execute 36 

If I now had him brought into my power. 

Sal. Yet tell'st thou not how thou wert entertain'd. 

Tal. With scoffs and scorns and contumelious 
taunts. 
In open market-place produc'd they me, 40 

To be a public spectacle to all: 
Here, said they, is the terror of the French, 
The scarecrow that affrights our children so. 
Then broke I from the officers that led me, 44 

And with my nails digg'd stones out of the ground 
To hurl at the beholders of my shame. 
My grisly countenance made others fly. 
None durst come near for fear of sudden death. 
In iron walls they deem'd me not secure ; 49 

So great fear of my name 'mongst them was spread 
That they suppos'd I could rend bars of steel 

23-56 Cf. n. 38 entertain'd: treated 



20 The First Part of 

And spurn in pieces posts of adamant : 52 

Wherefore a guard of chosen shot I had, 

That walk'd about me every minute- while ; 

And if I did but stir out of my bed 

Ready they were to shoot me to the heart. 56 

Enter the Boy with a linstock. 

Sal. I grieve to hear what torments you endur'd; 
But we will be reveng'd sufficiently. 
Now it is supper-time in Orleans: 
Here., through this grate, I count each one, 60 

And view the Frenchmen how they fortify: 
Let us look in ; the sight will much delight thee. 
Sir Thomas Gargrave, and Sir William Glansdale, 
Let me have your express opinions 64 

Where is best place to make our battery next. 

Gar. I think at the north gate; for there stand 
lords. 

Glan. And I, here, at the bulwark of the bridge. 

Tal. For aught I see, this city must be famish'd, 68 
Or with light skirmishes enfeebled. 

Here they shoot and Salisbury falls down 
[together with Gargrave]. 

Sal. O Lord! have mercy on us, wretched sinners. 

Gar. O Lord! have mercy on me, woeful man. 

Tal. What chance is this that suddenly hath 
cross'd us? 72 

Speak, Salisbury; at least, if thou canst speak: 
How far'st thou, mirror of all martial men? 
One of thy eyes and thy cheek's side struck off! 
Accursed tower ! accursed fatal hand 76 

That hath contriv'd this woeful tragedy! 

53 chosen shot: sharpshooters 

56 S. d. linstock: stick holding gunner's match 

64 express: precise 68 must be: will have to be 



King Henry the Sixth, I. iv 21 

In thirteen battles Salisbury o'ercame; 

Henry the Fifth he first train'd to the wars ; 

Whilst any trump did sound or drum struck up, 80 

His sword did ne'er leave striking in the field. 

Yet liv'st thou, Salisbury? though thy speech doth 

fail, 
One eye thou hast to look to heaven for grace : 
The sun with one eye vieweth all the world. 84 

Heaven, be thou gracious to none alive, 
If Salisbury wants mercy at thy hands ! 
Bear hence his body ; I will help to bury it. 
Sir Thomas Gargrave, hast thou any life? 88 

Speak unto Talbot; nay, look up to him. 
Salisbury, cheer thy spirit with this comfort; 
Thou shalt not die, whiles — 

He beckons with his hand and smiles on me, 92 

As who should say, 'When I am dead and gone, 
Remember to avenge me on the French.' 
Plantagenet, I will; and like thee, 
Play on the lute, beholding the towns burn : 96 

Wretched shall France be only in my name. 

Here an Alarum, and it thunders and lightens. 
What stir is this ? What tumult's in the heavens ? 
Whence cometh this alarum and the noise? 

Enter a Messenger. 

Mess. My lord, my lord! the French have gather'd 
head: loo 

The Dauphin, with one Joan la Pucelle join'd, 
A holy prophetess new risen up, 
Is come with a great power to raise the siege. 

Here Salisbury lifteth himself up and groans. 

81 leave: cease from 

95 Plantagenet; cf. n. like thee; cf. n. 

97 only in: at the mere sound of 100 head: armed forces 



22 The First Part of 

Tal. Hear, hear how dying Salisbury doth 
groan ! 104 

It irks his heart he cannot be reveng'd. 
Frenchmen, I'll be a Salisbury to you: 
Pucelle or puzzel, dolphin or dogfish, 
Your hearts I'll stamp out with my horse's heels 
And make a quagmire of your mingled brains. 
Convey me Salisbury into his tent, no 

And then we'll try what these dastard Frenchmen 
dare. 

Alarum. Exeunt [bearing out the bodies]. 

Scene Five 
[The Same. Before one of the Gates'] 

Here an Alarum again, and Talbot pursueth the 
Dauphin and driveth him. Then enter Joan la 
Pucelle, driving Englishmen before her. Then 
enter Talbot. 

Tal. Where is my strength, my valour, and my 
force ? 
Our English troops retire, I cannot stay them; 
A woman clad in armour chaseth them. 

Enter Pucelle. 

Here, here she comes. I'll have a bout with thee: 
Devil, or devil's dam, I'll conjure thee: 5 

Blood will I draw on thee, thou art a witch, 
And straightway give thy soul to him thou serv'st. 

Joan. Come, come; 'tis only I that must disgrace 
thee. Here they fight. 

Tal. Heavens, can you suffer hell so to prevail? 9 
My breast I'll burst with straining of my courage, 

107 puzzel: lewd woman dolphin or dogfish; cf. n. 6 Cf. n. 



King Henry the Sixth, I. v 23 

And from my shoulders crack my arms asunder, 
But I will chastise this high-minded strumpet. 12 

They fight again. 
Joan. Talbot, farewell; thy hour is not yet come: 
I must go victual Orleans forthwith. 

A short Alarum; then [let Pucelle] enter the town 

•with Soldiers. 
O'ertake me if thou canst; I scorn thy strength. 
Go, go, cheer up thy hungry-starved men; 16 

Help Salisbury to make his testament: 
This day is ours, as many more shall be. Exit. 

Tal. My thoughts are whirled like a potter's wheel ; 
I know not where I am, nor what I do: 20 

A witch, by fear, not force, like Hannibal, 
Drives back our troops and conquers as she lists: 
So bees with smoke, and doves with noisome stench, 
Are from their hives and houses driven away. 24 

They call'd us for our fierceness English dogs; 
Now, like to whelps, we crjdng run away. 

A short Alarum. 
Hark, countrymen! either renew the fight, 
Or tear the lions out of England's coat; 28 

Renounce your soil, give sheep in lions' stead: 
Sheep run not half so treacherous from the wolf, 
Or horse or oxen from the leopard, 
As you fly from your oft-subdued slaves. 32 

Alarum. Here another skirmish. 
It will not be : retire into your trenches : 
You all consented unto Salisbury's death, 
For none would strike a stroke in his revenge. 
Pucelle is entered into Orleans 36 

In spite of us or aught that we could do. 

12 high-minded: presumptuous 14 S. d. Cf. n. 

21 like Hannibal; cf. n. 28 Cf. n. 

29 give: display (as a heraldic emblem) 



24 The First Part of 

O ! would I were to die with Salisbury. 

The shame hereof will make me hide my head. 

Exit Talbot. Alarum, Retreat, Flourish. 



Scene Six 
[The Same] 

Enter, on the walls, Pucelle, Dauphin, Reignier, 
Alencon, and Soldiers. 

Joan. Advance our waving colours on the walls; 
Rescu'd is Orleans from the English: 
Thus Joan la Pucelle hath perform'd her word. 

Char. Divinest creature, Astraea's daughter, 4 

How shall I honour thee for this success? 
Thy promises are like Adonis' gardens, 
That one day bloom'd and fruitful were the next. 
France, triumph in thy glorious prophetess ! 8 

Recover'd is the town of Orleans: 
More blessed hap did ne'er befall our state. 

Reig. Why ring not out the bells throughout the 
town ? 
Dauphin, command the citizens make bonfires 12 

And feast and banquet in the open streets, 
To celebrate the joy that God hath given us. 

Alen. All France will be replete with mirth and 

joy. 

When they shall hear how we have play'd the men. 16 
Char. 'Tis Joan, not we, by whom the day is won; 
For which I will divide my crown with her; 
And all the priests and friars in my realm 
Shall in procession sing her endless praise. 20 

39 S. d. Retreat: signal to recall troops 1 Advance: raise 

4 Astraea's daughter; cf. n. 6 Adonis' gardens; cf. n. 



King Henry the Sixth, II. i 25 

A statelier pyramis to her I'll rear 

Than Rhodope's of Memphis ever was: 

In memory of her when she is dead, 

Her ashes, in an urn more precious 24 

Than the rich-jewell'd coffer of Darius, 

Transported shall be at high festivals 

Before the kings and queens of France. 

No longer on Saint Denis will we cry, 28 

But Joan la Pucelle shall be France's saint. 

Come in, and let us banquet royally, 

After this golden day of victory. 

Flourish. Exeunt. 



ACT SECOND 

Scene One 
[Before Orleans] 

Enter a [French] Sergeant of a Band, with two 
Sentinels. 

Serg. Sirs, take your places and be vigilant. 
If any noise or soldier you perceive 
Near to the walls, by some apparent sign 
Let us have knowledge at the court of guard. 4 

Sent. Sergeant, you shall. [Exit Sergeant.] 

Thus are poor servitors — 
When others sleep upon their quiet beds — 
Constrain'd to watch in darkness, rain, and cold. 

Enter Talbot, Bedford, and Burgundy, with [soldiers 
bearing] scaling-ladders ; their drums beating a 
dead march. 

21 pyramis : pyramid 22 Rhodope's of Memphis; cf. n. 

25 coffer of Darius; cf. n. Act Second S. d. Band: body of troops 

4 court of guard: guardhouse 7 S. d. dead march; cf. n. 



26 The First Part of 

Tal. Lord regent, and redoubted Burgundy, 8 

By whose approach the regions of Artois, 
Walloon, and Picardy, are friends to us, 
This happy night the Frenchmen are secure, 
Having all day carous'd and banqueted: 12 

Embrace we then this opportunity, 
As fitting best to quittance their deceit 
Contriv'd by art and baleful sorcery. 

Bed. Coward of France! how much he wrongs his 
fame, 16 

Despairing of his own arm's fortitude, 
To join with witches and the help of hell! 

Bur. Traitors have never other company. 
But what's that Pucelle whom they term so pure? 

Tal. A maid, they say. 

Bed. A maid, and be so martial ! 21 

Bur. Pray God she prove not masculine ere long; 
If underneath the standard of the French 
She carry armour* as she hath begun. 24 

Tal. Well, let them practise and converse with 
spirits ; 
God is our fortress, in whose conquering name 
Let us resolve to scale their flinty bulwarks. 

Bed. Ascend, brave Talbot; we will follow 
thee. 28 

Tal. Not all together: better far, I guess, 
That we do make our entrance several ways, 
That if it chance the one of us do fail, 
The other yet may rise against their force. 32 

Bed. Agreed. I'll to yond corner. 

Bur. And I to this. 

Tal. And here will Talbot mount, or make his 
grave. 

8 Burgundy; cf. n. 11 secure: un suspecting 

14 quittance: requite 25 practise: conspire 32 other: others 



King Henry the Sixth, II. i 27 

Now, Salisbury, for thee, and for the right 

Of English Henry, shall this night appear 36 

How much in duty I am bound to both. 

Sent. Arm, arm ! the enemy doth make assault ! 

[The English] cry, 'St. George!' 'A Talbot/ The 
French leap o'er the walls in their shirts. Enter, 
several ways, Bastard [of Orleans], Alengon, 
Reignier, half ready, and half unready. 

Alen. How now, my lords! what! all unready so? 

Bast. Unready ! ay, and glad we 'scap'd so well. 

Reig. 'Twas time, I trow, to wake and leave our 
beds, 
Hearing alarums at our chamber-doors. 

Alen. Of all exploits since first I follow'd arms, 
Ne'er heard I of a warlike enterprise 44 

More venturous or desperate than this. 

Bast. I think this Talbot be a fiend of hell. 

Reig. If not of hell, the heavens, sure, favour him. 

Alen. Here cometh Charles: I marvel how he 
sped. 48 

Bast. Tut! holy Joan was his defensive guard. 

Enter Charles and Joan. 

Char. Is this thy cunning, thou deceitful dame? 
Didst thou at first, to flatter us withal, 
Make us partakers of a little gain, 52 

That now our loss might be ten times so much? 

Joan. Wherefore is Charles impatient with his 
friend? 
At all times will you have my power alike? 
Sleeping or waking must I still prevail, 56 

Or will you blame and lay the fault on me? 

38 S. d. Cf. n. 39 unready: undressed 



28 The First Part of 

Improvident soldiers ! had your watch been good, 
This sudden mischief never could have fall'n. 

Char. Duke of Alencon, this was your default, 
That, being captain of the watch to-night, 61 

Did look no better to that weighty charge. 

Alen. Had all your quarters been so safely kept 
As that whereof I had the government, 64 

We had not been thus shamefully surpris'd. 

Bast. Mine was secure. 

Reig. And so was mine, my lord. 

Char. And for myself, most part of all this night, 
Within her quarter and mine own precinct 68 

I was employ'd in passing to and fro, 
About relieving of the sentinels: 
Then how or which way should they first break in? 

Joan. Question, my lords, no further of the 
case, 72 

How or which way : 'tis sure they found some place 
But weakly guarded, where the breach was made. 
And now there rests no other shift but this; 
To gather our soldiers, scatter'd and dispers'd, 
And lay new platforms to endamage them. 77 

Alarum. Enter a Soldier, crying, f A Talbot! a Tal- 
bot!' They fly, leaving their clothes behind. 

Sold. I'll be so bold to take what they have left. 
The cry of Talbot serves me for a sword; 
For I have loaden me with many spoils, 80 

Using no other weapon but his name. Exit. 

68 her: Joan's 77 platforms: plots 



King Henry the Sixth, II. ii 29 

Scene Two. 

[Within the Town] 

Enter Talbot, Bedford, Burgundy [a Captain, and 
Others]. 

Bed. The day begins to break, and night is fled, 
Whose pitchy mantle over-veil'd the earth. 
Here sound retreat, and cease our hot pursuit. 

Retreat. 

Tal. Bring forth the body of old Salisbury, 4 
And here advance it in the market-place, 
The middle centre of this cursed town. 
Now have I paid my vow unto his soul; 
For every drop of blood was drawn from him 8 

There hath at least five Frenchmen died to-night. 
And that hereafter ages may behold 
What ruin happen'd in revenge of him, 
Within their chiefest temple I'll erect 12 

A tomb wherein his corse shall be interr'd: 
Upon the which, that every one may read, 
Shall be engrav'd the sack of Orleans, 
The treacherous manner of his mournful death, 
And what a terror he had been to France. 17 

But, lords, in all our bloody massacre, 
I muse we met not with the Dauphin's grace, 
His new-come champion, virtuous Joan of Arc, 
Nor any of his false confederates. 21 

Bed. 'Tis thought, Lord Talbot, when the fight 
began, 
Rous'd on the sudden from their drowsy beds, 
They did amongst the troops of armed men 24 

Leap o'er the walls for refuge in the field. 

Bur. Myself — as far as I could well discern 

8 was: which was 19 muse: wonder 



30 The First Part of 

For smoke and dusky vapours of the night — 

Am sure I scar'd the Dauphin and his trull, 28 

When arm in arm they both came swiftly running, 

Like to a pair of loving turtle-doves 

That could not live asunder day or night. 

After that things are set in order here, 32 

We'll follow them with all the power we have. 

Enter a Messenger. 

Mess. All hail, my lords ! Which of this princely 
train 
Call ye the warlike Talbot, for his acts 
So much applauded through the realm of France? 36 

Tal. Here is the Talbot: who would speak with 
him? 

Mess. The virtuous lady, Countess of Auvergne, 
With modesty admiring thy renown, 
By me entreats, great lord, thou wouldst vouch- 
safe 40 
To visit her poor castle where she lies, 
That she may boast she hath beheld the man 
Whose glory fills the world with loud report. 

Bur. Is it even so? Nay, then, I see our wars 
Will turn into a peaceful comic sport, 45 

When ladies crave to be encounter'd with. 
You may not, my lord, despise her gentle suit. 

Tal. Ne'er trust me then; for when a world of 
men 48 

Could not prevail with all their oratory, 
Yet hath a woman's kindness over-rul'd: 
And therefore tell her I return great thanks, 
And in submission will attend on her. 52 

Will not your honours bear me company? 

41 lies: dwells 



King Henry the Sixth, II. Hi 31 

Bed. No, truly; 'tis more than manners will; 
And I have heard it said, unbidden guests 
Are often welcomest when they are gone. 56 

Tal. Well then, alone, — since there's no remedy, — 
I mean to prove this lady's courtesy. 
Come hither, captain. Whispers. 

You perceive my mind. 
Capt. I do, my lord, and mean accordingly. 

Exeunt. 



Scene Three. 
[Auvergne. Court of the Castle~\ 
Enter Countess [and her Porter], 

Count. Porter, remember what I gave in charge; 
And when you have done so, bring the keys to me. 

Port. Madam, I will. Exit. 

Count. The plot is laid: if all things fall out 
right, 4 

I shall as famous be by this exploit 
As Scythian Tomyris by Cyrus' death. 
Great is the rumour of this dreadful knight, 
And his achievements of no less account: 8 

Fain would mine eyes be witness with mine ears, 
To give their censure of these rare reports. 

Enter a Messenger and Talbot. 

Mess. Madam, 
According as your ladyship desir'd, 12 

By message crav'd, so is Lord Talbot come. 

Count. And he is welcome. What ! is this the man ? 

Mess. Madam, it is. 

6 Scythian Tomyris; cf. n. 10 censure: opinion 



32 The First Part of 

Count Is this the scourge of France? 

Is this the Talbot, so much fear'd abroad, 16 

That with his name the mothers still their babes ? 
I see report is fabulous and false: 
I thought I should have seen some Hercules, 
A second Hector, for his grim aspect, 20 

And large proportion of his strong-knit limbs. 
Alas ! this is a child, a silly dwarf : 
It cannot be this weak and writhled shrimp 
Should strike such terror to his enemies. 24 

Tal. Madam, I have been bold to trouble you; 
But since your ladyship is not at leisure, 
I'll sort some other time to visit you. 

Count. What means he now? Go ask him whither 
he goes. 28 

Mess. Stay, my Lord Talbot; for my lady craves 
To know the cause of your abrupt departure. 

Tal. Marry, for that she's in a wrong belief, 
I go to certify her Talbot's here. 32 

Enter Porter, with keys. 

Count. If thou be he, then art thou prisoner. 

Tal. Prisoner! to whom? 

Count. To me, bloodthirsty lord; 

And for that cause I train'd thee to my house. 
Long time thy shadow hath been thrall to me, 36 

For in my gallery thy picture hangs: 
But now the substance shall endure the like, 
And I will chain these legs and arms of thine, 
That hast by tyranny, these many years, 40 

Wasted our country, slain our citizens, 
And sent our sons and husbands captivate. 

Tal. Ha, ha, ha ! 

22 Cf.n. 23 writhled: wrinkled 27 sort: choose 

32 certify: inform 35 train'd: lured 42 captivate: into captivity 



King Henry the Sixth, II. Hi 33 



Count. Laughest thou, wretch? thy mirth shall 
turn to moan. 44 

Tal. I laugh to see your ladyship so fond 
To think that you have aught but Talbot's shadow, 
Whereon to practise your severity. 

Count. Why, art not thou the man? 

Tal. I am, indeed. 48 

Count. Then have I substance too. 

Tal. No, no, I am but shadow of myself: 
You are deceiv'd, my substance is not here; 
For what you see is but the smallest part 52 

And least proportion of humanity. 
I tell you, madam, were the whole frame here, 
It is of such a spacious lofty pitch, 
Your roof were not sufficient to contain it. 50 

Count. This is a riddling merchant for the nonce; 
He will be here, and yet he is not here: 
How can these contrarieties agree? 

Tal. That will I show you presently. 60 

Winds his horn. Drums strike up; a peal of ord- 
nance. Enter Soldiers. 

How say you, madam? are you now persuaded 

That Talbot is but shadow of himself? 

These are his substance, sinews, arms, and strength, 

With which he yoketh your rebellious necks, 64 

Razeth your cities, and subverts your towns, 

And in a moment makes them desolate. 

Count. Victorious Talbot! pardon my abuse: 
I find thou art no less than fame hath bruited, 68 

And more than may be gather'd by thy shape. 
Let my presumption not provoke thy wrath; 
For I am sorry that with reverence 

45 fond: foolish 55 pitch: height 

57 riddling merchant: riddle- monger 60 presently : immediately 



34 The First Part of 



I did not entertain thee as thou art. 72 

Tal. Be not dismay'd, fair lady; nor misconster 

The mind of Talbot as you did mistake 

The outward composition of his body. 

What you have done hath not offended me; 76 

Nor other satisfaction do I crave, 

But only, with your patience, that we may 

Taste of your wine and see what cates you have; 

For soldiers' stomachs always serve them well. 

Count. With all my heart, and think me hon- 
oured 81 i 

To feast so great a warrior in my house. Exeunt.. 



Scene Four. 
[London. The Temple Garden] 

Enter Richard Plantagenet, Warwick, Somerset, Pole 
[Earl of Suffolk], and others [Vernon and a 

Lawyer] . 

Plan. Great lords, and gentlemen, what means this 
silence? 
Dare no man answer in a case of truth? 

Suf. Within the Temple hall we were too loud; 
The garden here is more convenient. 4 

Plan. Then say at once if I maintain'd the truth, 
Or else was wrangling Somerset in th' error? 

Suf. Faith, I have been a truant in the law, 
And never yet could frame my will to it; 8 

And therefore frame the law unto my will. 

Som. Judge you, my Lord of Warwick, then, be- 
tween us. 

73 misconster : misconstrue 79 cates: delicacies 6 Cf.n. 7 Cf.n. 



King Henry the Sixth, II. iv 35 

War. Between two hawks, which flies the higher 
pitch ; 
Between two dogs, which hath the deeper mouth; 
Between two blades, which bears the better tem- 
per; 13 
Between two horses, which doth bear him best; 
Between two girls, which hath the merriest eye; 
I have perhaps some shallow spirit of judgment; 16 
But in these nice sharp quillets of the law, 
Good faith, I am no wiser than a daw. 

Plan. Tut, tut! here is a mannerly forbearance: 
The truth appears so naked on my side, 20 

That any purblind eye may find it out. 

Som. And on my side it is so well apparell'd, 
So clear, so shining, and so evident, 
That it will glimmer through a blind man's eye. 24 

Plan. Since you are tongue-tied, and so loath to 
speak, 
In dumb significants proclaim your thoughts: 
Let him that is a true-born gentleman, 
And stands upon the honour of his birth, 28 

If he suppose that I have pleaded truth, 
From off this brier pluck a white rose with me. 

Som. Let him that is no coward nor no flatterer, 
But dare maintain the party of the truth, 32 

Pluck a red rose from off this thorn with me. 

War. I love no colours, and, without all colour 
Of base insinuating flattery 
I pluck this white rose with Plantagenet. 36 

Suf. I pluck this red rose with young Somerset: 
And say withal I think he held the right. 

Ver. Stay, lords and gentlemen, and pluck no more, 

17 quillets: subtleties 26 significants: signs 32 party: side 

34 colours: pun on meaning, 'pretences' 
36 Plantagenet; cf. n. on I. iv. 95 



36 The First Part of 

Till you conclude that he, upon whose side 40 

The fewest roses are cropp'd from the tree, 
Shall yield the other in the right opinion. 

Som. Good Master Vernon, it is well objected: 
If I have fewest I subscribe in silence. 44 

Plan. And I. 

Ver. Then for the truth and plainness of the case, 
I pluck this pale and maiden blossom here, 
Giving my verdict on the white rose side. 48 

Som. Prick not your finger as you pluck it off, 
Lest bleeding you do paint the white rose red, 
And fall on my side so, against your will. 

Ver. If I, my lord, for my opinion bleed, 52 

Opinion shall be surgeon to my hurt, 
And keep me on the side where still I am. 

Som. Well, well, come on: who else? 

Lawyer. [To Somerset.] Unless my study and my 
books be false, 56 

The argument you held was wrong in you, 
In sign whereof I pluck a white rose too. 

Plan. Now, Somerset, where is yOur argument? 

Som. Here, in my scabbard; meditating that 60 
Shall dye your white rose in a bloody red. 

Plan. Meantime, your cheeks do counterfeit our 
roses ; 
For pale they look with fear, as witnessing 
The truth on our side. 

Som. No, Plantagenet, 64 

'Tis not for fear but anger that thy cheeks 
Blush for pure shame to counterfeit our roses, 
And yet thy tongue will not confess thy error. 

Plan. Hath not thy rose a canker, Somerset? 

43 objected: proposed 44 subscribe: submit 

68 canker: canker-worm 






King Henry the Sixth, II. iv 37 

Som. Hath not thy rose a thorn, Plantagenet? 69 

Plan. Ay, sharp and piercing, to maintain his 
truth ; 
Whiles thy consuming canker eats his falsehood. 

Som. Well, I'll find friends to wear my bleeding 
roses, 72 

That shall maintain what I have said is true, 
Where false Plantagenet dare not be seen. 

Plan. Now, by this maiden blossom in my hand, 
I scorn thee and thy faction, peevish boy. 76 

Suf. Turn not thy scorns this way, Plantagenet. 

Plan. Proud Pole, I will, and scorn both him and 
thee. 

Suf. I'll turn my part thereof into thy throat. 

Som. Away, away! good William de la Pole: 80 
We grace the yeoman by conversing with him. 

War. Now, by God's will, thou wrong'st him, 
Somerset: 
His grandfather was Lionel, Duke of Clarence, 
Third son to the third Edward, King of England. 84 
Spring crestless yeomen from so deep a root? 

Plan. He bears him on the place's privilege, 
Or durst not, for his craven heart, say thus. 

Som. By Him that made me, I'll maintain my 
words 88 

On any plot of ground in Christendom. 
Was not thy father, Richard Earl of Cambridge, 
For treason executed in our late king's days ? 
And, by his treason stand'st not thou attainted, 
Corrupted, and exempt from ancient gentry? 
His trespass yet lives guilty in thy blood; 94 

And, till thou be restor'd, thou art a yeoman. 

81 the yeoman; cf. n. 86 bears him on: takes advantage of 

93 exempt: cut off 



38 The First Part of 

Plan. My father was attached, not attainted; 
Condemn'd to die for treason, but no traitor ; 
And that I'll prove on better men than Somerset, 
Were growing time once ripen'd to my will. 
For your partaker Pole and you yourself, 100 

I'll note you in my book of memory, 
To scourge you for this apprehension: 
Look to it well and say you are well warn'd. 

Som. Ah, thou shalt find us ready for thee still, 104 
And know us by these colours for thy foes ; 
For these my friends in spite of thee shall wear. 

Plan. And, by my soul, this pale and angry rose, 
As cognizance of my blood-drinking hate, 108 

Will I for ever and my faction wear, 
Until it wither with me to my grave 
Or flourish to the height of my degree. 

Suf. Go forward, and be chok'd with thy ambi- 
tion: 112 
And so farewell until I meet thee next. Exit. 

Som. Have with thee, Pole. Farewell, ambitious 
Richard. Exit. 

Plan. How I am brav'd and must perforce endure 
it! 

War. This blot that they object against your 
house 116 

Shall be wip'd out in the next parliament, 
Call'd for the truce of Winchester and Gloucester; 
And if thou be not then created York, 
I will not live to be accounted Warwick. 120 

Meantime in signal of my love to thee, 
Against proud Somerset and William Pole, 
Will I upon thy party wear this rose. 

96 attached, not attainted; cf. n. 100 partaker: supporter 

102 apprehension: conception, opinion 111 degree: rank 

114 Have with thee : let us go 



King Henry the Sixth, II. v 39 

And here I prophesy: this brawl to-day, • 124 

Grown to this faction in the Temple garden, 
Shall send between the red rose and the white 
A thousand souls to death and deadly night. 

Plan. Good Master Vernon, I am bound to 
you, 128 

That you on my behalf would pluck a flower. 

Ver. In your behalf still would I wear the same. 

Lawyer. And so will I. 

Plan. Thanks, gentle sir. 132 

Come, let us four to dinner : I dare say 
This quarrel will drink blood another day. Exeunt. 



Scene Five 

[London. A Room in the Tower~\ 

Enter Mortimer, brought in a chair, and Jailors. 

Mor. Kind keepers of my weak decaying age, 
Let dying Mortimer here rest himself. 
Even like a man new haled from the rack, 
So fare my limbs with long imprisonment; 4 

And these gray locks, the pursuivants of death, 
Nestor-like aged, in an age of care, 
Argue the end of Edmund Mortimer. 
These eyes, like lamps whose wasting oil is spent, 8 
Wax dim, as drawing to their exigent ; 
Weak shoulders, overborne with burdening grief, 
And pithless arms, like to a wither'd vine 
That droops his sapless branches to the ground: 12 
Yet are these feet whose strengthless stay is numb, 
Unable to support this lump of clay, 

5 pursuivants : messengers 6 Cf. n. 

7 Edmund Mortimer; cf. n. 9 exigent: end 



40 The First Part of 

Swift- winged with desire to get a grave, 

As witting I no other comfort have. 16 

But tell me, keeper, will my nephew come? 

First Keep. Richard Plantagenet, my lord, will 
come: 
We sent unto the Temple, unto his chamber, 
And answer was return'd that he will come. 20 

Mor. Enough: my soul shall then be satisfied. 
Poor gentleman ! his wrong doth equal mine. 
Since Henry Monmouth first began to reign, 
Before whose glory I was great in arms, 24 

This loathsome sequestration have I had; 
And even since then hath Richard been obscur'd, 
Depriv'd of honour and inheritance. 
But now the arbitrator of despairs, 28 

Just death, kind umpire of men's miseries, 
With sweet enlargement doth dismiss me hence: 
I would his troubles likewise were expir'd, 
That so he might recover what was lost. 32 

Enter Richard. 

First Keep. My lord, your loving nephew now is 
come. 

Mor. Richard Plantagenet, my friend, is he come? 

Plan. Ay, noble uncle, thus ignobly us'd, 
Your nephew, late despised Richard, comes. 36 

Mor. Direct mine arms I may embrace his neck, 
And in his bosom spend my latter gasp: 
O ! tell me when my lips do touch his cheeks, 
That I may kindly give one fainting kiss. 40 

And now declare, sweet stem from York's great stock, 
Why didst thou say of late thou wert despis'd? 

Plan. First, lean thine aged back against mine arm ; 

25 sequestration: seclusion, imprisonment 38 latter: -final 



King Henry the Sixth, II. v 41 

And in that ease, I'll tell thee my disease. 44 

This day, in argument upon a case, 

Some words there grew 'twixt Somerset and me; 

Among which terms he us'd a lavish tongue 

And did upbraid me with my father's death: 48 

Which obloquy set bars before my tongue, 

Else with the like I had requited him. 

Therefore, good uncle, for my father's sake, 

In honour of a true Plantagenet, 52 

And for alliance sake, declare the cause 

My father, Earl of Cambridge, lost his head. 

Mor. That cause, fair nephew, that imprison'd me, 
And hath detain'd me all my flow'ring youth 56 

Within a loathsome dungeon, there to pine, 
Was cursed instrument of his decease. 

Plan. Discover more at large what cause that was, 
For I am ignorant and cannot guess. 60 

Mor. I will, if that my fading breath permit, 
And death approach not ere my tale be done. 
Henry the Fourth, grandfather to this king, 
Depos'd his nephew Richard, Edward's son, 64 

The first-begotten, and the lawful heir 
Of Edward king, the third of that descent: 
During whose reign the Percies of the North, 
Finding his usurpation most unjust, 68 

Endeavour'd my advancement to the throne. 
The reason mov'd these warlike lords to this 
Was, for that — young Richard thus remov'd, 
Leaving no heir begotten of his body — 72 

I was the next by birth and parentage; 
For by my mother I derived am 

44 disease: grievance 53 alliance sake : sake of relationship 

59 Discover: make known 

64 nephew: blood relative, here first cousin 

67 whose: Henry IV's 74 mother: i.e., paternal grandmother 



42 The First Part of 

From Lionel Duke of Clarence, the third son 

To King Edward the Third; whereas he 76 

From John of Gaunt doth bring his pedigree, 

Being but fourth of that heroic line. 

But mark: as, in this haughty great attempt 

They laboured to plant the rightful heir, 80 

I lost my liberty, and they their lives. 

Long after this, when Henry the Fifth, 

Succeeding his father Bolingbroke, did reign, 

Thy father, Earl of Cambridge, then deriv'd 84 

From famous Edmund Langley, Duke of York, 

Marrying my sister that thy mother was, 

Again in pity of my hard distress 

Levied an army, weening to redeem 88 

And have install'd me in the diadem; 

But, as the rest, so fell that noble earl, 

And was beheaded. Thus the Mortimers, 

In whom the title rested, were suppress'd. 92 

Plan. Of which, my lord, your honour is the last. 

Mor. True ; and thou seest that I no issue have, 
And that my fainting words do warrant death: 
Thou art my heir; the rest I wish thee gather: 96 
But yet be wary in thy studious care. 

Plan. Thy grave admonishments prevail with me. 
But yet methinks my father's execution 
Was nothing less than bloody tyranny. 100 

Mor. With silence, nephew, be thou politic: 
Strong-fixed is the house of Lancaster, 
And like a mountain, not to be remov'd. 
But now thy uncle is removing hence, 104 

As princes do their courts, when they are cloy'd 
With long continuance in a settled place. 

Plan. O uncle ! would some part of my young years 

95 warrant: certify 96 the rest . . . gather; cf. n. 



King Henry the Sixth, II. v 43 

Might but redeem the passage of your age. 108 

Mor. Thou dost then wrong me, — as the slaugh- 
terer doth, 
Which giveth many wounds when one will kill. — 
Mourn not, except thou sorrow for my good; 
Only give order for my funeral : 112 

And so farewell ; and fair be all thy hopes, 
And prosperous be thy life in peace and war! 

Dies. 
Plan. And peace, no war, befall thy parting soul! 
In prison hast thou spent a pilgrimage, 116 

And like a hermit overpass'd thy days. 
Well, I will lock his counsel in my breast ; 
And what I do imagine let that rest. 
Keepers, convey him hence; and I myself 120 

Will see his burial better than his life. 

Exeunt [Jailors, bearing out the body of 

Mortimer] . 
Here dies the dusky torch of Mortimer, 
Chok'd with ambition of the meaner sort: 
And, for those wrongs, those bitter injuries, 124 

Which Somerset hath offer'd to my house, 
I doubt not but with honour to redress; 
And therefore haste I to the parliament, 
Either to be restored to my blood, 128 

Or make my ill the advantage of my good. Exit. 

128 blood: hereditary rights 129 Cf.n. 



44 The First Part of 



ACT THIRD 

Scene One 

[London. The Parliament House] 

Flourish. Enter King, Exeter, Gloucester, Winches- 
ter, Warwick, Somerset, Suffolk, Richard Plan- 
tagenet. Gloucester offers to put up a bill; 
Winchester snatches it, tears it. 

Win. Com'st thou with deep premeditated lines, 
With written pamphlets studiously devis'd, 
Humphrey of Gloucester? If thou canst accuse, 
Or aught intend'st to lay unto my charge, 4 

Do it without invention, suddenly; 
As I, with sudden and extemporal speech 
Purpose to answer what thou canst object. 

Glo. Presumptuous priest ! this place commands my 
patience 8 

Or thou shouldst find thou hast dishonour'd me. 
Think not, although in writing I preferr'd 
The manner of thy vile outrageous crimes, 
That therefore I have forg'd, or am not able 12 

Verbatim to rehearse the method of my pen: 
No, prelate; such is thy audacious wickedness, 
Thy lewd, pestiferous, and dissentious pranks, 
As very infants prattle of thy pride. 16 

Thou art a most pernicious usurer, 
Froward by nature, enemy to peace; 
Lascivious, wanton, more than well beseems 
A man of thy profession and degree; 20 

And for thy treachery, what's more manifest, 

Act Third, Scene One ; cf. n. 5 invention : preconceived design 

9 find: i.e., to thy sorrow 

13 method . . . pen: summary of what I have written 



King Henry the Sixth, III. i 45 

In that thou laid'st a trap to take my life 
As well at London Bridge as at the Tower? 
Beside, I fear me, if thy thoughts were sifted, 24 

The king, thy sovereign, is not quite exempt 
From envious malice of thy swelling heart. 

Win. Gloucester, I do defy thee. Lords, vouchsafe 
To give me hearing what I shall reply. 28 

If I were covetous, ambitious, or perverse, 
As he will have me, how am I so poor? 
Or how haps it I seek not to advance 
Or raise myself, but keep my wonted calling? 32 

And for dissension, who preferreth peace 
More than I do, except I be provok'd? 
No, my good lords, it is not that offends ; 
It is not that that hath incens'd the duke: 36 

It is, because no one should sway but he; 
No one but he should be about the king; 
And that engenders thunder in his breast, 
And makes him roar these accusations forth. 40 

But he shall know I am as good — 

Glo. As good! 

Thou bastard of my grandfather ! 

Win. Ay, lordly sir ; for what are you, I pray, 
But one imperious in another's throne? 44 

Glo. Am I not protector, saucy priest? 

Win. And am not I a prelate of the church ? 

Glo. Yes, as an outlaw in a castle keeps, 
And useth it to patronage his theft. 48 

Win. Unreverent Gloucester ! 

Glo. Thou art reverent, 

Touching thy spiritual function, not thy life. 

22,23 Cf.n. 44 imperious: playing the emperor 

48 patronage: maintain, dignify 49 reverent: reverend 



46 The First Part of 

Win. Rome shall remedy this. 

War. Roam thither then. 

Som. My lord, it were your duty to forbear. 52 

War. Ay, see the bishop be not overborne. 

Som. Methinks my lord should be religious, 
And know the office that belongs to such. 

War. Methinks his lordship should be humbler; 56 
It fitteth not a prelate so to plead. 

Som. Yes, when his holy state is touch'd so near. 

War. State holy, or unhallow'd, what of that? 
Is not his Grace protector to the king? 60 

Plan. [Aside.] Plantagenet, I see, must hold his 
tongue, 
Lest it be said, 'Speak, sirrah, when you should; 
Must your bold verdict enter talk with lords?' 
Else would I have a fling at Winchester. 64 

King. Uncles of Gloucester and of Winchester, 
The special watchmen of our English weal, 
I would prevail, if prayers might prevail, 
To join your hearts in love and amity. 68 

O ! what a scandal is it to our crown, 
That two such noble peers as ye should jar. 
Believe me, lords, my tender years can tell 
Civil dissension is a viperous worm, 72 

That gnaws the bowels of the commonwealth. 

A noise within; 'Down with the tawny-coats !' 

King. What tumult's this? 

War. An uproar, I dare warrant, 

Begun through malice of the bishop's men. 

A noise again; 'Stones ! Stones !' 

Enter Mayor [of London]. 

May. O, my good lords, and virtuous Henry, 76 

51 Cf. n. 63 enter talk; cf. n. 



King Henry the Sixth, III. i 47 

Pity the city of London, pity us ! 

The bishop and the Duke of Gloucester's men, 

Forbidden late to carry any weapon, 

Have fill'd their pockets full of pebble stones, 80 

And banding themselves in contrary parts 

Do pelt so fast at one another's pate, 

That many have their giddy brains knock'd out: 

Our windows are broke down in every street, 84 

And we for fear compell'd to shut our shops. 

Enter, in skirmish, [the Serving-men of Gloucester 
and Winchester^ with bloody pates. 

King. We charge you, on allegiance to ourself, 
To hold your slaught'ring hands, and keep the 

peace. — 
Pray, uncle Gloucester, mitigate this strife. 88 

First Serv. Nay, if we be forbidden stones, 
we'll fall to it with our teeth. 
Sec. Serv. Do what ye dare, we are as resolute. 

Skirmish again. 
Glo. You of my household, leave this peevish 
broil, 92 

And set this unaccustom'd fight aside. 

Third Serv. My lord, we know your Grace to be a 
man 
Just and upright, and, for your royal birth, 
Inferior to none but to his majesty; 96 

And ere that we will suffer such a prince, 
So kind a father of the commonweal, 
To be disgraced by an inkhorn mate, 
We and our wives and children all will fight, loo 

And have our bodies slaught'red by thy foes. 

First Serv. Ay, and the very parings of our nails 

78-85 Cf.n. 99 inkhorn mate : low pedant 



48 The First Part of 

Shall pitch a field when we are dead. Begin again. 

Glo. Stay, stay, I say ! 

And, if you love me, as you say you do, 104 

Let me persuade you to forbear a while. 

King. O ! how this discord doth afflict my soul ! 
Can you, my Lord of Winchester, behold 
My sighs and tears and will not once relent? 108 

Who should be pitiful if you be not? 
Or who should study to prefer a peace 
If holy churchmen take delight in broils? 

War. Yield, my Lord Protector; yield, Win- 
chester ; 112 
Except you mean with obstinate repulse 
To slay your sovereign and destroy the realm. 
You see what mischief and what murder too 
Hath been enacted through your enmity: 116 
Then be at peace, except ye thirst for blood. 

Win. He shall submit or I will never yield. 

Glo. Compassion on the king commands me stoop; 
Or I would see his heart out ere the priest 120 

Should ever get that privilege of me. 

War. Behold, my Lord of Winchester, the duke 
Hath banish'd moody discontented fury, 
As by his smoothed brows it doth appear: 124 

Why look you still so stern and tragical? 

Glo. Here, Winchester, I offer thee my hand. 

King. Fie, uncle Beaufort! I have heard you 
preach, 
That malice was a great and grievous sin; 128 

And will not you maintain the thing you teach, 
But prove a chief offender in the same? 

War. Sweet king ! the bishop hath a kindly gird. 

103 pitch a field: do battle 121 privilege: advantage 

131 gird: rebuke 



King Henry the Sixth, III, i 49 

For shame, my Lord of Winchester, relent! 132 

What! shall a child instruct you what to do? 

Win. Well, Duke of Gloucester, I will yield to 
thee; 
Love for thy love and hand for hand I give. 

Glo. [Aside.'] Ay; but I fear me, with a hollow 
heart. 136 

See here, my friends and loving countrymen, 
This token serveth for a flag of truce, 
Betwixt ourselves and all our followers. 
So help me God, as I dissemble not ! 140 

Win. [Aside.] So help me God, as I intend it not! 
King. O loving uncle, kind Duke of Gloucester, 
How joyful am I made by this contract! 
Away, my masters ! trouble us no more ; 144 

But join in friendship, as your lords have done. 
First Serv. Content: I'll to the surgeon's. 
Sec. Serv. And so will I. 

Third Serv. And I will see what physic the tavern 
affords. 

Exeunt [Mayor, Serving-men, tyc.~\. 
War. Accept this scroll, most gracious sove- 
reign, 148 
Which in the right of Richard Plantagenet 
We do exhibit to your majesty. 

Glo. Well urg'd, my Lord of Warwick: for, sweet 
prince, 

A.n if your Grace mark every circumstance, 152 

5Tou have great reason to do Richard right; 
Especially for those occasions 
At Eltham-place I told your majesty. 

King. And those occasions, uncle, were of 
force: 156 

144 my masters: good fellows (a term of condescension') 

'52 An if: if 154 occasions: reasons 



so The First Part of 



Therefore, my loving lords, our pleasure is 
That Richard be restored to his blood. 

War. Let Richard be restored to his blood; 
So shall his father's wrongs be recompens'd. 160 

Win. As will the rest, so willeth Winchester. 

King. If Richard will be true, not that alone, 
But all the whole inheritance I give 
That doth belong unto the house of York, 164 

From whence you spring by lineal descent. 

Plan. Thy humble servant vows obedience, 
And humble service till the point of death. 

King. Stoop then and set your knee against my 
foot; 168 

And, in reguerdon of that duty done, 
I girt thee with the valiant sword of York: 
Rise, Richard, like a true Plantagenet, 
And rise created princely Duke of York. 172) 

Plan. And so thrive Richard as thy foes may fall!! 
And as my duty springs, so perish they 
That grudge one thought against your majesty! 

All. Welcome, high prince, the mighty Duke of 
York ! 176 i 

Som. [Aside.'] Perish, base prince, ignoble Duke of 
York ! 

Glo. Now will it best avail your majesty 
To cross the seas and to be crown'd in France. 
The presence of a king engenders love 180 

Amongst his subjects and his loyal friends, 
As it disanimates his enemies. 

King. When Gloucester says the word, King Henry 
goes; 
For friendly counsel cuts off many foes. 184 

163-165 Cf.n. 169 reguerdon: reward 170 girt: gird 

175 grudge . . . thought: bear . . . grudging thought 

178,179 Cf.n. 182 disanimates : discourages 



King Henry the Sixth, III. ii 51 

Glo. Your ships already are in readiness. 

Sennet. Flourish. Exeunt. 

Manet Exeter. 

Exe. Ay, we may march in England or in France, 
Not seeing what is likely to ensue. 
This late dissension grown betwixt the peers 188 

Burns under feigned ashes of forg'd love. 
And will at last break out into a flame: 
As fester'd members rot but by degree, 
Till bones and flesh and sinews fall away, 192 

So will this base and envious discord breed. 
And now I fear that fatal prophecy 
Which in the time of Henry, nam'd the Fifth, 
Was in the mouth of every sucking babe : 196 

That Henry born at Monmouth should win all, 
And Henry born at Windsor lose all: 
Which is so plain that Exeter doth wish 
His days may finish ere that hapless time. 200 

Exit. 

Scene Two 
[France. Before Rouen'] 

Enter Fucelle, disguised, with four Soldiers [dressed 
like countrymen,] with sacks upon their backs. 

Joan. These are the city gates, the gates of Roan, 
Through which our policy must make a breach: 
Take heed, be wary how you place your words; 
Talk like the vulgar sort of market-men 4 

That come to gather money for their corn. 
If we have entrance, — as I hope we shall, — 

185 S. d. Sennet; cf. n. 194 that fatal prophecy; cf. n. 

Scene Two S. d.; cf. n. 2 policy: trickery 



52 The First Part of 

And that we find the slothful watch but weak, 

I'll by a sign give notice to our friends, 8 

That Charles the Dauphin may encounter them. 

First Sold. Our sacks shall be a mean to sack the 
city, 
And we be lords and rulers over Roan ; 
Therefore we'll knock. Knock. 

Watch. [Within.] Qui est la? 13 

Joan. Pay sans, pauvres gens de France: 
Poor market-folks that come to sell their corn. 

Watch. [Opening the gates. ~\ Enter, go in; the 

market-bell is rung. 16 

Joan. Now, Roan, I'll shake thy bulwarks to the 

ground. Exeunt [Pucelle, 8$c, into the city]. 

Enter Charles, Bastard, Alencon [and Forces]. 

Char. Saint Denis bless this happy stratagem! 
And once again we'll sleep secure in Roan. 

Bast. Here enter'd Pucelle and her practis- 
ants ; 20 

Now she is there how will she specify 
Where is the best and safest passage in? 

Alen. By thrusting out a torch from yonder tower; 
Which, once discern'd, shows that her meaning is, 24 
No way to that, for weakness, which she enter'd. 

Enter Pucelle on the top, thrusting out a torch 
burning. 

Joan. Behold! this is the happy wedding torch 
That joineth Roan unto her countrymen, 27 

But burning fatal to the Talbonites ! [Exit.] 

Bast. See, noble Charles, the beacon of our friend, 

7 that: i.e., if 16 market-bell: bell signaling the opening of market 

20 practisants: conspirators 22 Where; cf. n. 

25 to: is comparable to 28 Talbonites; cf. n. 



King Henry the Sixth, III. ii 53 

The burning torch in yonder turret stands. 

Char. Now shine it like a comet of revenge, 
A prophet to the fall of all our foes ! 32 

Alen. Defer no time, delays have dangerous ends; 
Enter, and cry 'The Dauphin!' presently, 
And then do execution on the watch. 

Alarum. [They enter the town.~\ 

An Alarum. [Enter"] Talbot in an Excursion. 

Tal. France, thou shalt rue this treason with thy 
tears, 36 

If Talbot but survive thy treachery. 
Pucelle, that witch, that damned sorceress, 
Hath wrought this hellish mischief unawares, 
That hardly we escap'd the pride of France. 40 

Exit. 

An Alarum: Excursions. [Enter from the town] 
Bedford, brought in sick in a chair. Enter 
Talbot and Burgundy, without: within, Pucelle, 
Charles, Bastard, and Alengon on the Walls. 

Joan. Good morrow, gallants ! Want ye corn for 
bread ? 
I think the Duke of Burgundy will fast 
Before he'll buy again at such a rate. 
'Twas full of darnel; do you like the taste? 44 

Bur. Scoff on, vile fiend and shameless courtezan! 
I trust ere long to choke thee with thine own, 
And make thee curse the harvest of that corn. 

Char. Your Grace may starve perhaps, before that 
time. 48 

35 S. d. Excursion: sally against the enemy 

40 the pride of France; cf. n. S. d. Alengon; cf. n. 

44 darnel: a weed injurious to wheat ('com ) 

46 thine own : thy own bread 



54 The First Part of 

Bed. O! let no words, but deeds, revenge this 

treason ! 
Joan. What will you do, good grey-beard? break 
a lance, 
And run a tilt at death within a chair? 

Tal. Foul fiend of France, and hag of all de- 
spite, 52 
Encompass'd with thy lustful paramours ! 
Becomes it thee to taunt his valiant age 
And twit with cowardice a man half dead? 
Damsel, I'll have a bout with you again, 56 
Or else let Talbot perish with this shame. 

Joan. Are you so hot, sir? Yet, Pucelle, hold thy 
peace ; 
If Talbot do but thunder, rain will follow. 

They [i.e., Talbot, tyc.,"] whisper together in 

counsel. 

God speed the parliament ! who shall be the 

speaker ? 60 

Tal. Dare ye come forth and meet us in the field? 

Joan. Belike your lordship takes us then for fools, 

To try if that our own be ours or no. 

Tal. I speak not to that railing Hecate, 64 

But unto thee, Alencon, and the rest; 
Will ye, like soldiers, come and fight it out? 
Alen. Signior, no. 

Tal. Signior, hang ! base muleters of France ! 68 
Like peasant foot-boys do they keep the walls, 
And dare not take up arms like gentlemen. 

Joan. Away, captains ! let's get us from the walls ; 
For Talbot means no goodness, by his looks. 72 

God be wi' you, my lord ! we came but to tell you 

50 good grey-beard; cf. n. # 52 of all despite: most despicable 

64 Hecate: goddess of witchcraft, witch 68 muleters: muleteers 



King Henry the Sixth, III. ii 55 

That we are here. 

Exeunt [Pucelle, fyc.,'] from the Walls. 

Tal. And there will we be too, ere it be long, 
Or else reproach be Talbot's greatest fame! 76 

Vow, Burgundy, by honour of thy house, — 
Prick'd on by public wrongs sustain'd in France, — 
Either to get the town again, or die; 
And I, as sure as English Henry lives, 80 

And as his father here was conqueror, 
As sure as in this late-betrayed town 
Great Cceur-de-lion's heart was buried, 
So sure I swear to get the town or die. 84 

Bur. My vows are equal partners with thy vows. 

Tal. But, ere we go, regard this dying prince, 
The valiant Duke of Bedford. Come, my lord, 
We will bestow you in some better place, 88 

Fitter for sickness and for crazy age. 

Bed. Lord Talbot, do not so dishonour me: 
Here will I sit before the walls of Roan, 
And will be partner of your weal or woe. 92 

Bur. Courageous Bedford, let us now persuade 
you. 

Bed. Not to be gone from hence; for once I read, 
That stout Pendragon in his litter, sick, 
Came to the field and vanquished his foes: 96 

Methinks I should revive the soldiers' hearts, 
Because I ever found them as myself. 

Tal. Undaunted spirit in a dying breast ! 
Then be it so: heavens keep old Bedford safe! 
And now no more ado, brave Burgundy, 101 

But gather we our forces out of hand, 
And set upon our boasting enemy. 

Exit [with Burgundy]. 

81 Cf.n. 82,83 Cf.n. 89 crazy: broken 

95, 96 Cf. n. 102 out of hand: immediately 



56 The First Part of 

An Alarum. Excursions. Enter Sir John Fastolfe 
and a Captain. 

Cap. Whither away, Sir John Fastolfe, in such 
haste ? 104 

Fast. Whither away! to save myself by flight: 
We are like to have the overthrow again. 

Cap. What! will you fly, and leave Lord Talbot? 

Fast. Ay, 

All the Talbots in the world, to save my life. 108 

Exit. 
Cap. Cowardly knight ! ill fortune follow thee ! 

Exit. 

Retreat. Excursions. Pucelle, Alencon, and 
Charles fly. 

Bed. Now, quiet soul, depart when Heaven please, 
For I have seen our enemies' overthrow. 
What is the trust or strength of foolish man? 112 

They, that of late were daring with their scoffs, 
Are glad and fain by flight to save themselves. 

Bedford dies, and is carried in by two in his chair. 

An Alarum. Enter Talbot, Burgundy, and the rest. 

Tal. Lost, and recover'd in a day again! 
This is a double honour, Burgundy: 116 

Yet heavens have glory for this victory ! 

Bur. Warlike and martial Talbot, Burgundy 
Enshrines thee in his heart, and there erects 
Thy noble deeds as valour's monument. 120 

Tal. Thanks, gentle duke. But where is Pucelle 
now? 
I think her old familiar is asleep. 

122 familiar: attendant demon 



King Henry the Sixth, III. Hi 57 

Now where's the Bastard's braves, and Charles his 

gleeks ? 
What! all amort? Roan hangs her head for 
grief, 124 

That such a valiant company are fled. 
Now will we take some order in the town, 
Placing therein some expert officers, 
And then depart to Paris to the king; 128 

For there young Henry with his nobles lie. 

Bur. What wills Lord Talbot pleaseth Burgundy. 

Tal. But yet, before we go, let's not forget 
The noble Duke of Bedford late deceas'd, 132 

But see his exequies fulfill'd in Roan: 
A braver soldier never couched lance, 
A gentler heart did never sway in court; 
But kings and mightiest potentates must die, 136 

For that's the end of human misery. Exeunt. 



Scene Three 
[Between Rouen and Paris] 

Enter Charles, Bastard, Alenqon, Pucelle [and 
Forces]. 

Joan. Dismay not, princes, at this accident, 
Nor grieve that Roan is so recovered: 
Care is no cure, but rather corrosive, 
For things that are not to be remedied. 4 

Let frantic Talbot triumph for a while, 
And like a peacock sweep along his tail; 
We'll pull his plumes and take away his train, 

123 braves: bravado gleeks: gibes 

124 all amort: 'a la mort,' sick to death, prostrated 

126 some order: certain measures 133 exequies: obsequies 

1 Dismay : lose courage 3 corrosive : caustic, painful 



58 The First Part of 

If Dauphin and the rest will be but rul'd. 8 

Char. We have been guided by thee hitherto, 
And of thy cunning had no diffidence: 
One sudden foil shall never breed distrust. 

Bast. Search out thy wit for secret policies, 12 

And we will make thee famous through the world. 

Alen. We'll set thy statue in some holy place 
And have thee reverenc'd like a blessed saint: 
Employ thee, then, sweet virgin, for our good. 16 

Joan. Then thus it must be; this doth Joan devise: 
By fair persuasions, mix'd with sugar'd words, 
We will entice the Duke of Burgundy 
To leave the Talbot and to follow us. 20 

Char. Ay, marry, sweeting, if we could do that, 
France were no place for Henry's warriors; 
Nor should that nation boast it so with us, 
But be extirped from our provinces. 24 

Alen. For ever should they be expuls'd from 
France, 
And not have title of an earldom here. 

Joan. Your honours shall perceive how I will work 
To bring this matter to the wished end. 28 

Drum sounds afar off. 
Hark ! by the sound of drum you may perceive 
Their powers are marching unto Paris-ward. 

Here sound an English march. [Enter, and pass 

over, Talbot and his Forces.] 
There goes the Talbot, with his colours spread, 
And all the troops of English after him. 32 

French march. [Enter the Duke of Burgundy and 
his Forces.] 

Now in the rearward comes the duke and his: 

10 diffidence: distrust 16 Employ thee: exert thyself 

19, 20 Cf. n. 24 extirped: rooted out 



King Henry the Sixth, III. Hi 59 

Fortune in favour makes him lag behind. 
Summon a parley; we will talk with him. 

Trumpets sound a parley. 

Char. A parley with the Duke of Burgundy ! 

Bur. Who craves a parley with the Burgundy? 37 

Joan. The princely Charles of France, thy country- 
man. 

Bur. What sayst thou, Charles ? for I am marching 
hence. 

Char. Speak, Pucelle, and enchant him with thy 
words. 40 

Joan. Brave Burgundy, undoubted hope of France ! 
Stay, let thy humble handmaid speak to thee. 

Bur. Speak on; but be not over-tedious. 

Joan. Look on thy country, look on fertile 
France, 44 

And see the cities and the towns defac'd 
By wasting ruin of the cruel foe. 
As looks the mother on her lowly babe 
When death doth close his tender dying eyes, 48 

See, see the pining malady of France; 
Behold the wounds, the most unnatural wounds, 
Which thou thyself hast giv'n her woeful breast. 
O ! turn thy edged sword another way ; 52 

Strike those that hurt, and hurt not those that help. 
One drop of blood drawn from thy country's bosom 
Should grieve thee more than streams of foreign gore: 
Return thee therefore, with a flood of tears, 56 

And wash away thy country's stained spots. 

Bur. Either she hath bewitch'd me with her words, 
Or nature makes me suddenly relent. 

Joan. Besides, all French and France exclaims on 
thee, 60 

47 lowly: lying low (f) 



60 The First Part of 

Doubting thy birth and lawful progeny. 
Who join'st thou with but with a lordly nation 
That will not trust thee but for profit's sake? 
When Talbot hath set footing once in France, 64 

And fashion'd thee that instrument of ill, 
Who then but English Henry will be lord, 
And thou be thrust out like a fugitive? 
Call we to mind, and mark but this for proof, 68 

Was not the Duke of Orleans thy foe, 
And was he not in England prisoner? 
But when they heard he was thine enemy, 
They set him free, without his ransom paid, 72 

In spite of Burgundy and all his friends. 
See then, thou fight'st against thy countrymen ! 
And join'st with them will be thy slaughtermen. 
Come, come, return ; return, thou wandering lord ; 76 
Charles and the rest will take thee in their arms. 
Bur. I am vanquished; these haughty words of 

hers 
Have batter'd me like roaring cannon-shot, 
And made me almost yield upon my knees. 80 

Forgive me, country, and sweet countrymen ! 
And, lords, accept this hearty kind embrace: 
My forces and my power of men are yours. 
So, farewell, Talbot; I'll no longer trust thee. 84 

Joan. Done like a Frenchman: turn, and turn 

again ! 
Char. Welcome, brave duke ! thy friendship makes 

us fresh. 
Bast. And doth beget new courage in our breasts. 
Alen. Pucelle hath bravely play'd her part in 

this, 88 

61 progeny: descent 65 that instrument of : instrument of that (?) 

69-73 Cf. n. 85 Cf. n. 



King Henry the Sixth, III. iv 61 

And doth deserve a coronet of gold. 

Char. Now let us on, my lords, and join our 
powers : 
And seek how we may prejudice the foe. Exeunt. 

Scene Four 
[Paris. A Room in the Palace] 

Enter the King, Gloucester, Winchester, York, Suf- 
folk, Somerset, Warwick, Exeter [Vernon, Bas- 
set, and Others']. To them, with his Soldiers, 
Talbot. 

Tal. My gracious prince, and honourable peers, 
Hearing of your arrival in this realm, 
I have a while giv'n truce unto my wars, 
To do my duty to my sovereign: 4 

In sign whereof, this arm, — that hath reclaim'd 
To your obedience fifty fortresses, 
Twelve cities, and seven walled towns of strength, 
Beside five hundred prisoners of esteem, — 8 

Lets fall his sword before your highness' feet, 
And with submissive loyalty of heart, 
Ascribes the glory of his conquest got, 
First to my God, and next unto your Grace. 12 

King. Is this the Lord Talbot, uncle Gloucester, 
That hath so long been resident in France? 

Glo. Yes, if it please your majesty, my liege. 

King. Welcome, brave captain and victorious 
lord ! 16 

When I was young, — as yet I am not old, — 
I do remember how my father said, 
A stouter champion never handled sword. 

91 prejudice: injure 18 Cf. v. 



62 The First Part of 

Long since we were resolved of your truth, 20 

Your faithful service and your toil in war; 
Yet never have you tasted our reward, 
Or been reguerdon'd with so much as thanks, 
Because till now we never saw your face: 24 

Therefore, stand up; and for these good deserts, 
We here create you Earl of Shrewsbury; 
And in our coronation take your place. 

Sennet. Flourish. Exeunt. 

Mane\n~\t Vernon and Basset. 

Ver. Now, sir, to you, that were so hot at sea, 
Disgracing of these colours that I wear 29 

In honour of my noble Lord of York, 
Dar'st thou maintain the former words thou spak'st? 

Bas. Yes, sir: as well as you dare patronage 
The envious barking of your saucy tongue 33 

Against my lord the Duke of Somerset. 

Ver. Sirrah, thy lord I honour as he is. 

Bas. Why, what is he? as good a man as York. 36 

Ver. Hark ye; not so: in witness, take ye that. 

Strikes him. 

Bas. Villain, thou know'st the law of arms is such 
That, whoso draws a sword, 'tis present death, 
Or else this blow should broach thy dearest blood. 40 
But I'll unto his majesty, and crave 
I may have liberty to venge this wrong; 
When thou shalt see I'll meet thee to thy cost. 

Ver. Well, miscreant, I'll be there as soon as 
you ; 44 

And, after, meet you sooner than you would. 

Exeunt. 

20 resolved: convinced 26 Cf. n. 38, 39 Cf. n. 



King Henry the Sixth, IV. i 63 

ACT FOURTH 

Scene One 

[Paris. A Room of State] 

Enter King, Gloucester, Winchester, York, Suffolk, 
Somerset, Warwick, Talbot, Exeter, and Gov- 
ernor. 

Glo. Lord bishop, set the crown upon his head. 

Win. God save King Henry, of that name the sixth. 

Glo. Now, Governor of Paris, take your oath, — 

[Governor kneels.] 
That you elect no other king but him, 4 

Esteem none friends but such as are his friends, 
And none your foes but such as shall pretend 
Malicious practices against his state: 
This shall ye do, so help you righteous God! 8 

[The Governor takes the oath and exit.] 

Enter Fastolfe. 

Fast. My gracious sovereign, as I rode from Calais, 
To haste unto your coronation, 
A letter was deliver'd to my hands, 
Writ to your Grace from the Duke of Burgundy. 12 

Tal. Shame to the Duke of Burgundy and thee! 
I vow'd, base knight, when I did meet thee next, 
To tear the garter from thy craven's leg; 

[Plucking it off.] 
Which I have done, because unworthily 16 

Thou wast installed in that high degree. 
Pardon me, princely Henry, and the rest: 
This dastard, at the battle of Patay, 

Act Fourth, Scene One; cf. n. 

4 elect: accept 6 pretend: purpose 

15 the garter: Order of the Garter 19 Patay; cf. n. 



64 The First Part of 

When but in all I was six thousand strong, 20 

And that the French were almost ten to one, 

Before we met or that a stroke was given, 

Like to a trusty squire did run away: 

In which assault we lost twelve hundred men; 24 

Myself, and divers gentlemen beside, 

Were there surpris'd and taken prisoners. 

Then judge, great lords, if I have done amiss; 

Or whether that such cowards ought to wear 28 

This ornament of knighthood, yea, or no? 

Glo. To say the truth, this fact was infamous 
And ill beseeming any common man, 
Much more a knight, a captain and a leader. 32 

Tal. When first this order was ordain'd, my lords, 
Knights of the garter were of noble birth, 
Valiant and virtuous, full of haughty courage, 
Such as were grown to credit by the wars ; 36 

Not fearing death, nor shrinking for distress, 
But always resolute in most extremes. 
He then that is not furnish'd in this sort 
Doth but usurp the sacred name of knight, 40 

Profaning this most honourable order; 
And should — if I were worthy to be judge — 
Be quite degraded, like a hedge-born swain 
That doth presume to boast of gentle blood. 44 

King. Stain to thy countrymen! thou hear'st thy 
doom. 
Be packing therefore, thou that wast a knight; 
Henceforth we banish thee on pain of death. 

[Exit Fastolfe.'] 
And now, my Lord Protector, view the letter 48 

Sent from our uncle Duke of Burgundy. 

30 fact: misdeed 37 distress: physical suffering 

38 most extremes: greatest extremities 

39 furnish'd in this sort: so endowed 



King Henry the Sixth, IV. i 65 

Glo. [Viewing superscription.] What means his 
Grace, that he hath chang'd his style? 
No more, but plain and bluntly, 'To the King !' 
Hath he forgot he is his sovereign? 52 

Or doth this churlish superscription 
Pretend some alteration in good will? 
What's here? 'I have, upon especial cause, 
Mov'd with compassion of my country's wrack, 
Together with the pitiful complaints 57 

Of such as your oppression feeds upon, 
Forsaken your pernicious faction, 
And join'd with Charles, the rightful King of 
France.' 60 

O, monstrous treachery ! Can this be so, 
That in alliance, amity, and oaths, 
There should be found such false dissembling guile? 

King. What! doth my uncle Burgundy revolt? 64 

Glo. He doth, my lord, and is become your foe. 

King. Is that the worst this letter doth contain? 

Glo. It is the worst, and all, my lord, he writes. 

King. Why then, Lord Talbot there shall talk with 
him, 68 

And give him chastisement for this abuse. 
How say you, my lord? are you not content? 

Tal. Content, my liege! Yes: but that I am pre- 
vented, 
I should have begg'd I might have been employ'd. 72 

King. Then gather strength, and march unto him 
straight : 
Let him perceive how ill we brook his treason, 
And what offence it is to flout his friends. 

Tal. I go, my lord; in heart desiring still 76 

50 style: mode of address 54 Pretend: portend 

71 prevented: anticipated 



66 The First Part of 

You may behold confusion of your foes. [Exit.'] 

Enter Vernon and Basset. 

Ver. Grant me the combat, gracious sovereign! 

Bas. And me, my lord ; grant me the combat too ! 

York. This is my servant: hear him, noble 
prince ! 80 

Som. And this is mine: sweet Henry, favour him! 

King. Be patient, lords; and give them leave to 
speak. 
Say, gentlemen, what makes you thus exclaim? 
And wherefore crave you combat? or with whom? 84 

Ver. With him, my lord; for he hath done me 
wrong. 

Bas. And I with him; for he hath done me wrong. 

King. What is that wrong whereof you both com- 
plain ? 
First let me know, and then I'll answer you. 88 

Bas. Crossing the sea from England into France, 
This fellow here, with envious carping tongue, 
Upbraided me about the rose I wear; 
Saying, the sanguine colour of the leaves 92 

Did represent my master's blushing cheeks, 
When stubbornly he did repugn the truth 
About a certain question in the law 
Argu'd betwixt the Duke of York and him; 96 

With other vile and ignominious terms: 
In confutation of which rude reproach, 
And in defence of my lord's worthiness, 
I crave the benefit of law of arms. 100 

Ver. And that is my petition, noble lord: 
For though he seem with forged quaint conceit, 
To set a gloss upon his bold intent, 

78 the combat: licen se to fight 94 repugn: repudiate 

102 quaint: ingenious 



King Henry the Sixth, IV. i 67 

Yet know, my lord, I was provok'd by him; 104 

And he first took exceptions at this badge, 
Pronouncing that the paleness of this flower 
Bewray'd the faintness of my master's heart. 

York. Will not this malice, Somerset, be left? 108 

Som. Your private grudge, my Lord of York, will 
out, 
Though ne'er so cunningly you smother it. 

King. Good Lord! what madness rules in brain- 
sick men, 
When, for so slight and frivolous a cause, 112 

Such factious emulations shall arise ! 
Good cousins both, of York and Somerset, 
Quiet yourselves, I pray, and be at peace. 

York. Let this dissension first be tried by 
fight, 116 

And then your highness shall command a peace. 

Som. The quarrel toucheth none but us alone; 
Betwixt ourselves let us decide it, then. 

York. There is my pledge; accept it, Somer- 
set. 120 

Ver. Nay, let it rest where it began at first. 

Bas. Confirm it so, mine honourable lord. 

Glo. Confirm it so ! Confounded be your strife ! 
And perish ye, with your audacious prate ! 124 

Presumptuous vassals ! are you not asham'd, 
With this immodest clamorous outrage 
To trouble and disturb the king and us ? — 
And you, my lords, methinks you do not well 128 

To bear with their perverse objections; 
Much less to take occasion from their mouths 
To raise a mutiny betwixt yourselves: 
Let me persuade you take a better course. 132 

124 prate: prating 126 immodest: immoderate, presumptuous 

129 objections: accusations 



68 The First Part of 

Exe. It grieves his highness: good my lords, be 
friends. 

King. Come hither, you that would be combatants. 
Henceforth I charge you, as you love our favour, 
Quite to forget this quarrel and the cause. 136 

And you, my lords, remember where we are; 
In France, amongst a fickle wavering nation. 
If they perceive dissension in our looks, 
And that within ourselves we disagree, 140 

How will their grudging stomachs be provok'd 
To wilful disobedience, and rebel! 
Beside, what infamy will there arise, 
When foreign princes shall be certified 144 

That for a toy, a thing of no regard, 
King Henry's peers and chief nobility 
Destroy'd themselves, and lost the realm of France! 
O ! think upon the conquest of my father, 148 

My tender years, and let us not forgo 
That for a trifle that was bought with blood! 
Let me be umpire in this doubtful strife. 
I see no reason, if I wear this rose, 152 

[Putting on a red rose.'] 
That any one should therefore be suspicious 
I more incline to Somerset than York: 
Both are my kinsmen, and I love them both. 
As well they may upbraid me with my crown, 156 

Because, forsooth, the King of Scots is crown'd. 
But your discretions better can persuade 
Than I am able to instruct or teach: 
And therefore, as we hither came in peace, 160 

So let us still continue peace and love. 
Cousin of York, we institute your Grace 

140 within: among 141 grudging stomachs : rebellious tempers 

145 toy: whim, trifle 



King Henry the Sixth, IV. i 69 

To be our regent in these parts of France: 

And, good my Lord of Somerset, unite 164 

Your troops of horsemen with his bands of foot ; 

And like true subjects, sons of your progenitors, 

Go cheerfully together and digest 

Your angry choler on your enemies. 168 

Ourself, my Lord Protector, and the rest, 

After some respite will return to Calais; 

From thence to England; where I hope ere long 

To be presented by your victories, 172 

With Charles, Alencon, and that traitorous rout. 

Exeunt. Mane[n~]t York, Warwick, Exeter, 

Vernon. 

War. My Lord of York, I promise you, the king 
Prettily, methought, did play the orator. 

York. And so he did; but yet I like it not, 
In that he wears the badge of Somerset. 177 

War. Tush ! that was but his fancy, blame him not ; 
I dare presume, sweet prince, he thought no harm. 

York. An if I wist he did, — But let it rest; 
Other affairs must now be managed. 181 

Exeunt. Flourish. Manet Exeter. 

Exe. Well didst thou, Richard, to suppress thy 
voice ; 
For had the passions of thy heart burst out, 
I fear we should have seen decipher'd there 184 

More rancorous spite, more furious raging broils, 
Than yet can be imagin'd or suppos'd. 
But howsoe'er, no simple man that sees 
This jarring discord of nobility, 188 

This shouldering of each other in the court, 
This factious bandying of their favourites, 

167 digest: vent, disperse 181 S. d. Flourish; cf. n. 

190 bandying: contending 



70 The First Part of 

But that it doth presage some ill event. 191 

'Tis much when sceptres are in children's hands; 
But more, when envy breeds unkind division: 
There comes the ruin, there begins confusion. Exit. 



Scene Two 
[Before Bordeaux] 

Enter Talbot, with Trump and Drum, before 
Bordeaux. 

Tal. Go to the gates of Bordeaux, trumpeter; 
Summon their general unto the wall. 

[Trumpet] sounds. Enter General aloft [with 
followers]. 

English John Talbot, captains, calls you forth, 

Servant in arms to Harry King of England; 4 

And thus he would: Open your city gates, 

Be humble to us, call my sovereign yours, 

And do him homage as obedient subjects, 

And I'll withdraw me and my bloody power; 8 

But, if you frown upon this proffer'd peace, 

You tempt the fury of my three attendants, 

Lean famine, quartering steel, and climbing fire; 

Who in a moment even with the earth 12 

Shall lay your stately and air-braving towers, 

If you forsake the offer of their love. 

Gen. Thou ominous and fearful owl of death, 
Our nation's terror and their bloody scourge! 16 

The period of thy tyranny approacheth. 
On us thou canst not enter but by death; 

191 But: but sees, i.e., without seeing 193 unkind: unnatural 

Scene Two; cf. n. 5 would: would have you understand 

10,11 Cf. n. 17 period: full stop, end 



King Henry the Sixth, IV. ii 71 

For, I protest, we are well fortified, 

And strong enough to issue out and fight: 20 

If thou retire, the Dauphin, well appointed, 

Stands with the snares of war to tangle thee: 

On either hand thee there are squadrons pitch'd, 

To wall thee from the liberty of flight; 24 

And no way canst thou turn thee for redress 

But death doth front thee with apparent spoil, 

And pale destruction meets thee in the face. 

Ten thousand French have ta'en the sacrament, 28 

To rive their dangerous artillery 

Upon no Christian soul but English Talbot. 

Lo! there thou stand'st, a breathing valiant man, 

Of an invincible unconquer'd spirit: 32 

This is the latest glory of thy praise, 

That I, thy enemy, 'due thee withal; 

For ere the glass, that now begins to run, 

Finish the process of his sandy hour, 36 

These eyes, that see thee now well coloured, 

Shall see thee wither'd, bloody, pale, and dead. 

Drum afar off. 
Hark ! hark ! the Dauphin's drum, a warning bell, 
Sings heavy music to thy timorous soul; 40 

And mine shall ring thy dire departure out. Exit. 

Tal. He fables not; I hear the enemy: 
Out, some light horsemen, and peruse their wings. 
O ! negligent and heedless discipline ; , 44 

How are we park'd and bounded in a pale, 
A little herd of England's timorous deer, 
Maz'd with a yelping kennel of French curs ! 
If we be English deer, be, then, in blood; 48 

23 either hand : both sides of 25 redress: etc? 

26 apparent spoil: obvious ruin 29 rive: cause to burst, discharge 

43 peruse their wings: reconnoitre their flanks 

44 discipline: tactics 45 park'd: enclosed pale: fence 
47 Maz'd: bewildered 48 in blood: vigorous 



72 The First Part of 

Not rascal-like, to fall down with a pinch, 
But rather, moody-mad and desperate stags, 
Turn on the bloody hounds with heads of steel, 
And make the cowards stand aloof at bay: 52 

Sell every man his life as dear as mine, 
And they shall find dear deer of us, my friends. 
God and Saint George, Talbot and England's right, 
Prosper our colours in this dangerous fight! 56 

[Exeunt.] 



Scene Three 
[Plains in Gas cony ~\ 

Enter a Messenger that meets York. Enter York 
with Trumpet and many Soldiers. 

York. Are not the speedy scouts return'd again, 
That dogg'd the mighty army of the Dauphin? 

Mess. They are return'd, my lord; and give it out, 
That he is march'd to Bordeaux with his power, 
To fight with Talbot. As he march'd along, 5 

By your espials were discovered 
Two mightier troops than that the Dauphin led, 
Which join'd with him and made their march for 
Bordeaux. 8 

York. A plague upon that villain Somerset, 
That thus delays my promised supply 
Of horsemen that were levied for this siege ! 
Renowned Talbot doth expect my aid, 12 

And I am louted by a traitor villain, 
And cannot help the noble chevalier. 
God comfort him in this necessity! 
If he miscarry, farewell wars in France. 16 

49 rascal-like: like a lean and jaded deer 13 louted: mocked 



King Henry the Sixth, IV. Hi 73 

Enter another Messenger [Sir William Lucy~\. 

Sec. Mess. Thou princely leader of our English 
strength, 
Never so needful on the earth of France, 
Spur to the rescue of the noble Talbot, 
Who now is girdled with a waist of iron 20 

And hemm'd about with grim destruction. 
To Bordeaux, warlike duke! To Bordeaux, York! 
Else, farewell Talbot, France, and England's honour. 

York. O God! that Somerset, who in proud 
heart 24 

Doth stop my cornets, were in Talbot's place! 
So should we save a valiant gentleman 
By forfeiting a traitor and a coward. 
Mad ire and wrathful fury makes me weep 28 

That thus we die, while remiss traitors sleep. 

Sec. Mess. O ! send some succour to the distress'd 
lord. 

York. He dies, we lose; I break my warlike word; 
We mourn, France smiles ; we lose, they daily get ; 32 
All long of this vile traitor Somerset. 

Sec. Mess. Then God take mercy on brave Talbot's 
soul; 
And on his son young John, whom two hours since 
I met in travel toward his warlike father. 36 

This seven years did not Talbot see his son ; 
And now they meet where both their lives are done. 

York. Alas ! what j oy shall noble Talbot have, 
To bid his young son welcome to his grave? 40 

Away ! vexation almost stops my breath 
That sunder'd friends greet in the hour of death. 
Lucy, farewell: no more my fortune can, 
But curse the cause I cannot aid the man. 44 

25 cornets: troops of horse 33 long of: on account of 



74 The First Part of 

Maine, Blois, Poitiers, and Tours, are won away, 
Long all of Somerset and his delay. 

Exit [with his Soldiers']. 
Sec. Mess. Thus, while the vulture of sedition 
Feeds in the bosom of such great commanders, 48 
Sleeping neglection doth betray to loss 
The conquest of our scarce cold conqueror, 
That ever living man of memory, 
Henry the Fifth. Whiles they each other cross, 
Lives, honours, lands, and all hurry to loss. 53 



scene rour 
[The Same] 

Enter Somerset, with his Army [and a Captain of 
Talbot's]. 

Som. It is too late; I cannot send them now: 
This expedition was by York and Talbot 
Too rashly plotted: all our general force 
Might with a sally of the very town 4 

Be buckled with: the over-daring Talbot 
Hath sullied all his gloss of former honour 
By this unheedful, desperate, wild adventure: 
York set him on to fight and die in shame, 8 

That, Talbot dead, great York might bear the name. 

Cap. Here is Sir William Lucy, who with me 
Set from our o'ermatch'd forces forth for aid. 

Som. How now, Sir William ! whither were you 
sent ? 12 

47 vulture of sedition; cf. n. 

49 Sleeping neglection : slothful neglect 

50 scarce cold conqueror; cf. n. 
Scene Four; cf. n. 

4 the very town: the mere garrison (unsupported by the relieving 
armies) 



King Henry the Sixth, IV. iv 75 

Lucy. Whither, my lord? from bought and sold 
Lord Talbot; 
Who, ring'd about with bold adversity, 
Cries out for noble York and Somerset, 
To beat assailing death from his weak legions: 16 
And whiles the honourable captain there 
Drops bloody sweat from his war-wearied limbs, 
And, in advantage lingering, looks for rescue, 
You, his false hopes, the trust of England's 
honour, 20 

Keep off aloof with worthless emulation. 
Let not your private discord keep away 
The levied succours that should lend him aid, 
While he, renowned noble gentleman, 24 

Yields up his life unto a world of odds: 
Orleans the Bastard, Charles, Burgundy, 
Alencon, Reignier, compass him about, 
And Talbot perisheth by your default. 28 

Som. York set him on; York should have sent him 
aid. 

Lucy. And York as fast upon your Grace exclaims ; 
Swearing that you withhold his levied host 
Collected for this expedition. 32 

Som. York lies; he might have sent and had the 
horse : 
I owe him little duty, and less love ; 
And take foul scorn to fawn on him by sending. 

Lucy. The fraud of England, not the force of 
France, 36 

Hath now entrapp'd the noble-minded Talbot. 
Never to England shall he bear his life, 
But dies, betray'd to fortune by your strife. 

13 Whither, my lord; cf. n. 

19 in advantage lingering: making the most of every desperate 
chance (?) 21 worthless: unworthy 



76 The First Part of 

Som. Come, go; I will dispatch the horsemen 
straight : 40 ! 

Within six hours they will be at his aid. 

Lucy. Too late comes rescue : he is ta'en or slain, 
For fly he could not if he would have fled; 
And fly would Talbot never, though he might. 44 

Som. If he be dead, brave Talbot, then adieu ! 
Lucy. His fame lives in the world, his shame in 
you. Exeunt. 



Scene Five 
[Castillon, near Bordeaux] 

Enter Talbot and his Son. 

Tal. O young John Talbot! I did send for thee 
To tutor thee in stratagems of war, 
That Talbot's name might be in thee reviv'd 
When sapless age, and weak unable limbs 4 

Should bring thy father to his drooping chair. 
But, — O malignant and ill-boding stars ! 
Now thou art come unto a feast of death, 
A terrible and unavoided danger: 8 

Therefore, dear boy, mount on my swiftest horse, 
And I'll direct thee how thou shalt escape 
By sudden flight: come, dally not, be gone. 

John. Is my name Talbot? and am I your son? 12 
And shall I fly ? O ! if you love my mother, 
Dishonour not her honourable name, 
To make a bastard and a slave of me: 
The world will say he is not Talbot's blood 16 

That basely fled when noble Talbot stood. 

Tal. Fly, to revenge my death, if I be slain. 

8 unavoided: unavoidable 



King Henry the Sixth, IV. v 77 

John. He that flies so will ne'er return again. 

Tal. If we both stay, we both are sure to die. 20 

John. Then let me stay; and, father, do you fly: 
Your loss is great, so your regard should be ; 
My worth unknown, no loss is known in me. 
Upon my death the French can little boast ; 24 

In yours they will, in you all hopes are lost. 
Flight cannot stain the honour you have won; 
But mine it will that no exploit have done: 
You fled for vantage everyone will swear; 28 

But if I bow, they'll say it was for fear. 
There is no hope that ever I will stay 
If the first hour I shrink and run away. 
Here, on my knee, I beg mortality, 32 

Rather than life preserv'd with infamy. 

Tal. Shall all thy mother's hopes lie in one tomb? 

John. Ay, rather than I'll shame my mother's 
womb. 

Tal. Upon my blessing I command thee go. 36 

John. To fight I will, but not to fly the foe. 

Tal. Part of thy father may be sav'd in thee. 

John. No part of him but will be shame in me. 

Tal. Thou never hadst renown, nor canst not lose 
it. 40 

John. Yes, your renowned name: shall flight abuse 
it? 

Tal. Thy father's charge shall clear thee from that 
stain. 

John. You cannot witness for me, being slain. 
If death be so apparent, then both fly. 44 

Tal. And leave my followers here to fight and die ? 
My age was never tainted with such shame. 

John. And shall my youth be guilty of such blame? 

22 regard: care {of yourself) 



78 The First Part of 

No more can I be sever'd from your side 48 

Than can yourself yourself in twain divide. 
Stay, go, do what you will, the like do I ; 
For live I will not if my father die. 

Tal. Then here I take my leave of thee, fair 
son, 52 

Born to eclipse thy life this afternoon. 
Come, side by side together live and die, 
And soul with soul from France to heaven fly. 

Exeunt 



Scene Six 
[The Same] 

Alarum: Excursions, wherein Talbot's Son is hemmed 
about, and Talbot rescues him. 

Tal. Saint George and victory ! fight, soldiers, 

fight ! 
The regent hath with Talbot broke his word, 
And left us to the rage of France his sword. 
Where is John Talbot? Pause, and take thy 

breath: 4 

I gave thee life and rescu'd thee from death. 

John. O! twice my father, twice am I thy son: 
The life thou gav'st me first was lost and done, 
Till with thy warlike sword, despite of fate, 8 

To my determin'd time thou gav'st new date. 

Tal. When from the Dauphin's crest thy sword 

struck fire, 
It warm'd thy father's heart with proud desire 
Of bold-fac'd victory. Then leaden age, 12 

Quicken'd with youthful spleen and warlike rage, 

3 France his: France's 9 determin'd: ended 



King Henry the Sixth, IV. vi 79 

Beat down Alengon, Orleans, Burgundy, 
And from the pride of Gallia rescu'd thee. 
The ireful bastard Orleans, — that drew blood 16 
From thee, my boy, and had the maidenhood 
Of thy first fight, — I soon encountered 
And, interchanging blows, I quickly shed 
Some of his bastard blood; and, in disgrace, 20 

Bespoke him thus, 'Contaminated, base, 
And misbegotten blood I spill of thine, 
Mean and right poor, for that pure blood of mine 
Which thou didst force from Talbot, my brave 
boy.' 24 

Here, purposing the Bastard to destroy, 
Came in strong rescue. Speak, thy father's care, 
Art thou not weary, John ? How dost thou fare ? 
Wilt thou yet leave the battle, boy, and fly, 28 

Now thou art seal'd the son of chivalry? 
Fly, to revenge my death when I am dead; 
The help of one stands me in little stead. 
O ! too much folly is it, well I wot, 32 

To hazard all our lives in one small boat. 
If I to-day die not with Frenchmen's rage, 
To-morrow I shall die with mickle age: 
By me they nothing gain an if I stay ; 36 

'Tis but the short'ning of my life one day. 
In thee thy mother dies, our household's name, 
My death's revenge, thy youth, and England's fame. 
All these and more we hazard by thy stay; 40 

All these are sav'd if thou wilt fly away. 

John. The sword of Orleans hath not made me 

. smart ; 
These words of yours draw life-blood from my heart. 
On that advantage, bought with such a shame, 44 

25 purposing: as I purposed 44 On that advantage; cf. n. 



so The First Part of 

To save a paltry life and slay bright fame, 

Before young Talbot from old Talbot fly, 

The coward horse that bears me fall and die ! 

And like me to the peasant boys of France, 48 

To be shame's scorn and subject of mischance! 

Surely, by all the glory you have won, 

An if I fly, I am not Talbot's son : 

Then talk no more of flight, it is no boot; 52 

If son to Talbot, die at Talbot's foot. 

Tal. Then follow thou thy desperate sire of Crete, 
Thou Icarus. Thy life to me is sweet: 
If thou wilt fight, fight by thy father's side, 56 

And, commendable prov'd, let's die in pride. 

Exeunt. 

Scene Seven 
[The Same] 

Alarum: Excursions. Enter Old Talbot, led [by a 
Servant], 

Tal. Where is my other life ? — mine own is gone ; — 
O ! where's young Talbot ? where is valiant John ? 
Triumphant death, smear'd with captivity, 
Young Talbot's valour makes me smile at thee. 4 

When he perceiv'd me shrink and on my knee, 
His bloody sword he brandish'd over me, 
And like a hungry lion did commence 
Rough deeds of rage and stern impatience; 8 

But when my angry guardant stood alone, 
Tendering my ruin and assail'd of none, 
Dizzy-ey'd fury and great rage of heart 

48 like: liken 54 sire of Crete: i.e., Dadalus 

3 smear'd with captivity: thyself besmirched zvith defeat 

9 guardant : guardian 10 Tendering : solicitous over 



King Henry the Sixth, IV. vii 81 



Suddenly made him from my side to start 12 

Into the clust'ring battle of the French ; 

And in that sea of blood my boy did drench 

His overmounting spirit; and there died 

My Icarus, my blossom, in his pride. 16 

Enter [Soldiers'] with John Talbot, borne. 

Serv. O, my dear lord ! lo, where your son is borne ! 

Tal. Thou antic, death, which laugh'st us here to 
scorn, 
Anon, from thy insulting tyranny, 
Coupled in bonds of perpetuity, 20 

Two Talbots, winged through the lither sky, 
In thy despite shall 'scape mortality. 
O ! thou, whose wounds become hard-f avour'd death, 
Speak to thy father ere thou yield thy breath; 24 
Brave death by speaking whether he will or no; 
Imagine him a Frenchman and thy foe. 
Poor boy! he smiles, methinks, as who should say, 
Had death been French, then death had died 
to-day. 28 

Come, come, and lay him in his father's arms: 
My spirit can no longer bear these harms. 
Soldiers, adieu ! I have what I would have, 
Now my old arms are young John Talbot's grave. 32 

Dies. 

Enter Charles, Alencon, Burgundy, Bastard and 
Pucelle. 

Char. Had York and Somerset brought rescue in, 
We should have found a bloody day of this. 

Bast. How the young whelp of Talbot's, raging- 
wood, 

13 battle: main body 18 antic: buffoon 

21 lither: yielding 23 become hard-favour'd: beautify ugly 

25 Brave: defy 35 raging-wood : mad with rage 



The First Part of 



Did flesh his puny sword in Frenchmen's blood! 36 

Joan. Once I encounter'd him, and thus I said: 
'Thou maiden youth, be vanquish'd by a maid': 
But with a proud majestical high scorn, 
He answer'd thus : 'Young Talbot was not born 40 
To be the pillage of a giglot wench.' 
So, rushing in the bowels of the French, 
He left me proudly, as unworthy fight. 

Bur. Doubtless he would have made a noble 
knight ; 44 

See, where he lies inhearsed in the arms 
Of the most bloody nurser of his harms. 

Bast. Hew them to pieces, hack their bones asunder, 
Whose life was England's glory, Gallia's wonder. 

Char. O, no! forbear; for that which we have 
fled 49 

During the life, let us not wrong it dead. 

Enter Lucy [with a French Herald]. 

Lucy. Herald, conduct me to the Dauphin's tent, 
To know who hath obtain'd the glory of the day. 

Char. On what submissive message art thou 
sent ? 53 

Lucy. Submission, Dauphin ! 'tis a mere French 
word; 
We English warriors wot not what it means. 
I come to know what prisoners thou hast ta'en, 56 
And to survey the bodies of the dead. 

Char. For prisoners ask'st thou? hell our prison is. 
But tell me whom thou seek'st. 

Lucy. Where is the great Alcides of the field, 60 
Valiant Lord Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury? 
Created, for his rare success in arms, 

41 giglot: wanton 44 Doubtless: undoubtedly 



King Henry the Sixth, IV. vii 83 

Great Earl of Washford, Waterford, and Valence; 
Lord Talbot of Goodrig and Urchinfield, 64 

Lord Strange of Blackmere, Lord Verdon of Alton, 
Lord Cromwell of Wingfield, Lord Furnivall of Shef- 
field, 
The thrice-victorious Lord of Falconbridge ; 
Knight of the noble order of Saint George, 68 

Worthy Saint Michael and the Golden Fleece; 
Great mareschal to Henry the Sixth 
Of all his wars within the realm of France? 

Joan. Here is a silly stately style indeed! 72 

The Turk, that two-and-fifty kingdoms hath, 
Writes not so tedious a style as this. 
Him that thou magnifiest with all these titles, 
Stinking and fly-blown lies here at our feet. 76 

Lucy. Is Talbot slain, the Frenchmen's only 
scourge, 
Your kingdom's terror and black Nemesis ? 
O ! were mine eye-balls into bullets turn'd, 
That I in rage might shoot them at your faces ! 80 

O ! that I could but call these dead to life ! 
It were enough to fright the realm of France. 
Were but his picture left among you here, 
It would amaze the proudest of you all. 84 

Give me their bodies, that I may bear them hence, 
And give them burial as beseems their worth. 

Joan. I think this upstart is old Talbot's ghost, 
He speaks with such a proud commanding spirit. 
For God's sake, let him have 'em; to keep them 
here 89 

They would but stink and putrefy the air. 

Char. Go, take their bodies hence. 

63-71 Cf. n. 72 style: title 

84 amaze: astound S9, 94 'em; cf. n. 



84 The First Part of 

Lucy. I'll bear them hence: 

But from their ashes shall be rear'd 92 

A phoenix that shall make all France afeard. 

Char. So we be rid of them, do with 'em what thou 
wilt. 
And now to Paris, in this conquering vein: 
All will be ours now bloody Talbot's slain. 96 

Exeunt. 



ACT FIFTH 

Scene One 

[London. A Room in the Palace] 

Sennet. Enter King, Gloucester, and Exeter. 

King. Have you perus'd the letters from the pope, 
The emperor, and the Earl of Armagnac? 

Glo. I have, my lord; and their intent is this: 
They humbly sue unto your excellence 4 

To have a godly peace concluded of 
Between the realms of England and of France. 

King. How doth your Grace affect their motion ? 

Glo. Well, my good lord; and as the only 
means 8 

To stop effusion of our Christian blood, 
And stablish quietness on every side. 

King. Ay, marry, uncle; for I always thought 
It was both impious and unnatural 12 

That such immanity and bloody strife 
Should reign among professors of one faith. 

Glo. Beside, my lord, the sooner to effect 

1, 2 Cf. n. 7 affect: incline toward 13 immanity: ferocity 



King Henry the Sixth, V.i 85 

And surer bind this knot of amity, 16 

The Earl of Armagnac, near knit to Charles, 
A man of great authority in France, 
Proffers his only daughter to your Grace 
In marriage, with a large and sumptuous dowry. 
King. Marriage, uncle ! alas ! my years are 
young, 21 

And fitter is my study and my books 
Than wanton dalliance with a paramour. 
Yet call the ambassadors ; and, as you please, 24 

So let them have their answers every one: 
I shall be well content with any choice 
Tends to God's glory and my country's weal. 

Enter Winchester [dressed as Cardinal], and three 
Ambassadors [one a Papal Legate]. 

Exe. [Aside.] What! is my Lord of Winchester 
install'd, 28 

And call'd unto a cardinal's degree? 
Then, I perceive that will be verified 
Henry the Fifth did sometime prophesy, — 
'If once he come to be a cardinal, 32 

He'll make his cap co-equal with the crown.' 

King. My lords ambassadors, your several suits 
Have been consider'd and debated on. 
Your purpose is both good and reasonable; 36 

And therefore are we certainly resolv'd 
To draw conditions of a friendly peace; 
Which by my Lord of Winchester we mean 
Shall be transported presently to France. 40 

Glo. And for the proffer of my lord your master, 
I have inform'd his highness so at large, 
As, — liking of the lady's virtuous gifts, 

31 sometime : formerly 43 As: that 



86 The First Part of 

Her beauty, and the value of her dower, — 44 

He doth intend she shall be England's queen. 

King. In argument and proof of which contract, 
Bear her this jewel, pledge of my affection. 
And so, my lord protector, see them guarded 48 

And safely brought to Dover; where inshipp'd 
Commit them to the fortune of the sea. 

Exeunt [all but Winchester and the Legate']. 

Win. Stay, my lord legate : you shall first receive 
The sum of money which I promised 52 

Should be deliver'd to his holiness 
For clothing me in these grave ornaments. 

Leg. I will attend upon your lordship's leisure. 

Win. [Aside.] Now Winchester will not submit, I 
trow, 56 

Or be inferior to the proudest peer. 
Humphrey of Gloucester, thou shalt well perceive 
That neither in birth or for authority 
The bishop will be overborne by thee: 60 

I'll either make thee stoop and bend thy knee, 
Or sack this country with a mutiny. Exeunt. 



Scene Two 
[France. Plains in Anjou ?~\ 

Enter Charles, Burgundy, Alengon, Bastard, 
Reignier, and Joan. 

Char. These news, my lord, may cheer our droop- 
ing spirits; 
'Tis said the stout Parisians do revolt, 
And turn again unto the warlike French. 

A len. Then, march to Paris, royal Charles of 
France, 4 



King Henry the Sixth, V. Hi 87 

And keep not back your powers in dalliance. 

Joan. Peace be amongst them if they turn to us ; 
Else, ruin combat with their palaces ! 

Enter Scout. 

Scout. Success unto our valiant general, 8 

And happiness to his accomplices ! 

Char. What tidings send our scouts? I prithee 
speak. 

Scout. The English army, that divided was 
Into two parties, is now conjoin'd in one, 12 

And means to give you battle presently. 

Char. Somewhat too sudden, sirs, the warning is: 
But we will presently provide for them. 

Bur. I trust the ghost of Talbot is not there: 16 
Now he is gone, my lord, you need not fear. 

Joan. Of all base passions, fear is most accurs'd. 
Command the conquest, Charles, it shall be thine; 
Let Henry fret and all the world repine. 20 

Char. Then on, my lords; and France be fortu- 
nate! 

Exeunt. Alarum. Excursions. 



Scene Three 

[The Same] 

Enter Joan la Pucelle. 

Joan. The regent conquers and the Frenchmen fly. 
Now help, ye charming spells and periapts; 
And ye choice spirits that admonish me 
And give me signs of future accidents: Thunder. 

You speedy helpers, that are substitutes 5 

9 accomplices: co mrades 1 The regent conquers; cf. n. 

2 periapts: amulets 4 accidents: events 5 substitutes: agents 



88 The First Part of 

Under the lordly monarch of the north, 
Appear, and aid me in this enterprise ! 

Enter Fiends. 

This speedy and quick appearance argues proof 

Of your accustom'd diligence to me. 9 

Now, ye familiar spirits, that are cull'd 

Out of the powerful regions under earth, 

Help me this once, that France may get the field. 

They walk, and speak not. 
O ! hold me not with silenee over-long. 13 

Where I was wont to feed you with my blood, 
I'll lop a member off and give it you, 
In earnest of a further benefit, 16 

So you do condescend to help me now. 

They hang their heads. 
No hope to have redress ? My body shall 
Pay recompense, if you will grant my suit. 

They shake their heads. 
Cannot my body nor blood-sacrifice 20 

Entreat you to your wonted furtherance? 
Then take my soul ; my body, soul, and all, 
Before that England give the French the foil. 

They depart. 
See ! they forsake me. Now the time is come, 24 

That France must vail her lofty-plumed crest, 
And let her head fall into England's lap. 
My ancient incantations are too weak, 
And hell too strong for me to buckle with: 28 

Now, France, thy glory droopeth to the dust. Exit. 

Excursions. Burgundy and York fight hand to hand. 
French fly [leaving Joan in York's power]. 

6 monarch of the north; cf. n. 25 vail: lower 

29 S. d. Burgundy and York fight; cf. n. 



King Henry the Sixth, V. in 89 

York. Damsel of France, I think I have you fast: 
Unchain your spirits now with spelling charms, 
And try if they can gain your liberty. 32 

A goodly prize, fit for the devil's grace! 
See how the ugly witch doth bend her brows, 
As if with Circe she would change my shape. 

Joan. Chang'd to a worser shape thou canst not 
be. 36 

York. O! Charles the Dauphin is a proper man; 
No shape but his can please your dainty eye. 

Joan. A plaguing mischief light on Charles and 
thee! 
And may ye both be suddenly surpris'd 40 

By bloody hands, in sleeping on your beds ! 

York. Fell banning hag, enchantress, hold thy 

tongue ! 
Joan. I prithee, give me leave to curse a while. 
York. Curse, miscreant, when thou comest to the 
stake. Exeunt. 

Alarum. Enter Suffolk, with Margaret in his hand. 

Suf. Be what thou wilt, thou art my prisoner. 

Gazes on her. 

fairest beauty ! do not fear nor fly, 

For I will touch thee but with reverent hands. 

1 kiss these fingers for eternal peace, 48 
And lay them gently on thy tender side. 

What art thou? say, that I may honour thee. 

Mar. Margaret my name, and daughter to a king, 
The King of Naples, whosoe'er thou art. 52 

Suf. An earl I am, and Suffolk am I call'd. 
Be not offended, nature's miracle, 
Thou art allotted to be ta'en by me: 

31 spelling: working spells 35 with Circe: Circe-like 

37 proper: handsome 42 Fell -.fierce 

48 for: in token of 55 allotted: appointed (by fate) 



90 The First Part of 

So doth the swan her downy cygnets save, 56 

Keeping them prisoners underneath her wings. 
Yet if this servile usage once offend, 
Go and be free again, as Suffolk's friend. 

She is going. 
O stay ! I have no power to let her pass ; 60 

My hand would free her, but my heart says no. 
As plays the sun upon the glassy streams, 
Twinkling another counterfeited beam, 
So seems this gorgeous beauty to mine eyes. 64 

Fain would I woo her, yet I dare not speak: 
I'll call for pen and ink and write my mind. 
Fie, De la Pole ! disable not thyself ; 
Hast not a tongue? is she not here? 68 

Wilt thou be daunted at a woman's sight? 
Ay; beauty's princely majesty is such 
Confounds the tongue and makes the senses rough. 

Mar. Say, Earl of Suffolk, — if thy name be 
so, — 72 

What ransom must I pay before I pass? 
For I perceive, I am thy prisoner. 

Suf. [Aside.] How canst thou tell she will deny 
thy suit, 
Before thou make a trial of her love? 76 

Mar. Why speak'st thou not? what ransom must 
I pay? 

Suf. [Aside.] She's beautiful and therefore to be 
woo'd, 
She is a woman, therefore to be won. 

Mar. Wilt thou accept of ransom, yea or no? 

Suf. [Aside.] Fond man! remember that thou hast 
a wife; 81 

63 Cf. n. 67 disable: disparage 

68 Cf. n. 71 Confounds: that it confounds 

75 S. d. Aside; cf. n. 78, 79 Cf. n. 



King Henry the Sixth, V, Hi 91 

Then how can Margaret be thy paramour? 

Mar. I were best to leave him, for he will not hear. 

Suf. [Aside.] There all is marr'd; there lies a cool- 
ing card. 84 

Mar. He talks at random; sure, the man is mad. 

Suf. [Aside.] And yet a dispensation may be had. 

Mar. And yet I would that you would answer me. 

Suf. [Aside.] I'll win this Lady Margaret. For 
whom ? 88 

Why, for my king: tush! that's a wooden thing. 

Mar. [Overhearing him.] He talks of wood: it is 
some carpenter. 

Suf. [Aside.] Yet so my fancy may be satisfied, 
And peace established between these realms. 92 

But there remains a scruple in that too; 
For though her father be the King of Naples, 
Duke of Anjou and Maine, yet is he poor, 
And our nobility will scorn the match. 96 

Mar. Hear ye, captain? Are you not at leisure? 

Suf. [Aside.] It shall be so, disdain they ne'er so 
much: 
Henry is youthful and will quickly yield. 
Madam, I have a secret to reveal. 100 

Mar. [Aside.] What though I be enthrall'd? he 
seems a knight, 
And will not any way dishonour me. 

Suf. Lady, vouchsafe to listen what I say. 

Mar. [Aside.] Perhaps I shall be rescu'd by the 
French ; 104 

And then I need not crave his courtesy. 

Suf. Sweet madam, give me hearing in a cause — 

Mar. Tush, women have been captivate ere now. 

84 cooling card: card (played by an adversary) which dashes one's 
hope 91 fancy: love 



92 The First Part of 

Suf. Lady, wherefore talk you so ? 108 

Mar. I cry you mercy, 'tis but quid for quo. 

Suf. Say, gentle princess, would you not suppose 
Your bondage happy to be made a queen? 

Mar. To be a queen in bondage is more vile 
Than is a slave in base servility; 113 

For princes should be free. 

Suf. And so shall you, 

If happy England's royal king be free. 

Mar. Why, what concerns his freedom unto 
me? 116 

Suf. I'll undertake to make thee Henry's queen, 
To put a golden sceptre in thy hand 
And set a precious crown upon thy head, 
If thou wilt condescend to be my — 

Mar. What ? 

Suf. His love. 120 

Mar. I am unworthy to be Henry's wife. 

Suf. No, gentle madam; I unworthy am 
To woo so fair a dame to be his wife 
And have no portion in the choice myself. 124 

How say you, madam, are you so content? 

Mar. An if my father please, I am content. 

Suf. Then call our captains and our colours forth! 
And, madam, at your father's castle walls 128 

We'll crave a parley, to confer with him. 

Sound. Enter Reignier on the Walls. 

Suf. See, Reignier, see thy daughter prisoner! 
Reig. To whom? 
Suf. To me. 

Reig. Suffolk, what remedy? 

I am a soldier, and unapt to weep, 132 

111 to be: if you were in consequence 132 unapt: disinclined 



King Henry the Sixth, V. Hi 93 

Or to exclaim on Fortune's fickleness. 

Suf. Yes, there is remedy enough, my lord: 
Consent, and for thy honour give consent, 
Thy daughter shall be wedded to my king, 136 

Whom I with pain have woo'd and won thereto ; 
And this her easy-held imprisonment 
Hath gain'd thy daughter princely liberty. 

Reig. Speaks Suffolk as he thinks? 

Suf. Fair Margaret knows 140 

That Suffolk doth not natter, face, or feign. 

Reig. Upon thy princely warrant, I descend 
To give thee answer of thy just demand. 

[Exit from the walls.'] 

Suf. And here I will expect thy coming. 144 

Trumpets sound. Enter Reignier [below']. 

Reig. Welcome, brave earl, into our territories: 
Command in Anjou what your honour pleases. 

Suf. Thanks, Reignier, happy for so sweet a child, 
Fit to be made companion with a king. 148 

What answer makes your Grace unto my suit? 

Reig. Since thou dost deign to woo her little worth 
To be the princely bride of such a lord, 
Upon condition I may quietly 152 

Enjoy mine own, the country Maine and Anjou, 
Free from oppression or the stroke of war, 
My daughter shall be Henry's if he please. 

Suf. That is her ransom; I deliver her; 156 

And those two counties I will undertake 
Your Grace shall well and quietly enjoy. 

Reig. And I again, in Henry's royal name, 
As deputy unto that gracious king, 160 

Give thee her hand for sign of plighted faith. 

141 face: wear a false face 



94 The First Part of 

Suf. Reignier of France, I give thee kingly thanks, 
Because this is in traffic of a king. 
[Aside.] And yet, methinks, I could be well con- 
tent 164 
To be mine own attorney in this case. 
I'll over, then, to England with this news, 
And make this marriage to be solemniz'd. 
So farewell, Reignier: set this diamond safe, 168 
In golden palaces, as it becomes. 

Re'ig. I do embrace thee, as I would embrace 
The Christian prince, King Henry, were he here. 

Mar. Farewell, my lord. Good wishes, praise, and 

prayers 172 

Shall Suffolk ever have of Margaret. She is going. 

Suf. Farewell, sweet madam! but hark you, Mar- 
garet ; 
No princely commendations to my king? 

Mar. Such commendations as become a maid, 
A virgin, and his servant, say to him. 177 

Suf. Words sweetly plac'd and modestly directed. 
But madam, I must trouble you again, 
No loving token to his majesty? 180 

Mar. Yes, my good lord ; a pure unspotted heart, 
Never yet taint with love, I send the king. 

Suf. And this withal. Kiss her. 

Mar. That for thyself: I will not so presume, 
To send such peevish tokens to a king. 185 

[Exeunt Reignier and Margaret.] 

Suf. O! wert thou for myself! But Suffolk, stay; 
Thou mayst not wander in that labyrinth; 
There Minotaurs and ugly treasons lurk. 188 

Solicit Henry with her wondrous praise: 
Bethink thee on her virtues that surmount 

163 traffic: business 182 taint: infected 185 peevish: silly 



King Henry the Sixth, V. iv 95 

And natural graces that extinguish art ; 
Repeat their semblance often on the seas, 192 

That, when thou com'st to kneel at Henry's feet, 
Thou mayst bereave him of his wits with wonder. 

Exit. 



Scene Four 
[Rouen'] 

Enter York, Warwick, Shepherd, [with] Pucelle 
[guarded"} . 

York. Bring forth that sorceress, condemn'd to 
burn. 

Shep. Ah, Joan! this kills thy father's heart out- 
right. 
Have I sought every country far and near, 
And, now it is my chance to find thee out, 4 

Must I behold thy timeless cruel death? 
Ah, Joan ! sweet daughter Joan, I'll die with thee. 

Joan. Decrepit miser ! base ignoble wretch ! 
I am descended of a gentler blood: 8 

Thou art no father nor no friend of mine. 

Shep. Out, out ! My lords, an please you, 'tis not 
so; 
I did beget her all the parish knows : 
Her mother liveth yet, can testify 12 

She was the first fruit of my bachelorship. 

War. Graceless! wilt thou deny thy parentage? 

York. This argues what her kind of life hath been: 
Wicked and vile; and so her death concludes. 16 

Shep. Fie, Joan, that thou wilt be so obstacle ! 

Scene Four S. d. Rouen; cf. n. 5 timeless: untimely 

7 miser: wretch 17 obstacle: i.e., obstinate 



96 The First Part of 

God knows, thou art a collop of my flesh ; 

And for thy sake have I shed many a tear: 

Deny me not, I prithee, gentle Joan. 20 

Joan. Peasant, avaunt! You have suborn'd this 
man, 
Of purpose to obscure my noble birth. 

Shep. 'Tis true, I gave a noble to the priest. 
The morn that I was wedded to her mother. 24 

Kneel down and take my blessing, good my girl. 
Wilt thou not stoop? Now cursed be the time 
Of thy nativity ! I would the milk 
Thy mother gave thee, when thou suck'dst her 
breast, 28 

Had been a little ratsbane for thy sake! 
Or else, when thou didst keep my lambs a-field, 
I wish some ravenous wolf had eaten thee! 
Dost thou deny thy father, cursed drab? 32 

O ! burn her, burn her ! hanging is too good. Exit. 

York. Take her away; for she hath liv'd too long, 
To fill the world with vicious qualities. 

Joan. First, let me tell you whom you have con- 
demn'd: 36 

Not me begotten of a shepherd swain, 
But issu'd from the progeny of kings; 
Virtuous and holy; chosen from above, 
By inspiration of celestial grace, 40 

To work exceeding miracles on earth. 
I never had to do with wicked spirits: 
But you, — that are polluted with your lusts, 
Stain'd with the guiltless blood of innocents, 44 

Corrupt and tainted with a thousand vices, — 
Because you want the grace that others have, 
You judge it straight a thing impossible 

18 collop: slice 23 noble: coin (worth 6 s. 8 d.) 



King Henry the Sixth, V. iv 97 

To compass wonders but by help of devils. 48 

No, misconceived! Joan of Arc hath been 

A virgin from her tender infancy, 

Chaste and immaculate in very thought; 

Whose maiden blood, thus rigorously effus'd, 52 

Will cry for vengeance at the gates of heaven. 

York. Ay, ay : away with her to execution ! 

War. And hark ye, sirs; because she is a maid, 
Spare for no fagots, let there be enow : 56 

Place barrels of pitch upon the fatal stake, 
That so her torture may be shortened. 

Joan. Will nothing turn your unrelenting hearts? 
Then, Joan, discover thine infirmity, 60 

That warranteth by law to be thy privilege. 

am with child, ye bloody homicides : 
Murder not then the fruit within my womb, 
Although ye hale me to a violent death. 64 

York. Now, heaven forfend! the holy maid with 
child! 

War. The greatest miracle that e'er ye wrought ! 
Is all your strict preciseness come to this? 

York. She and the Dauphin have been jug- 
gling : 68 
I did imagine what would be her refuge. 

War. Well, go to ; we will have no bastards live ; 
Especially since Charles must father it. 

Joan. You are deceiv'd; my child is none of 
his: 72 

[t was Alencon that enjoy'd my love. 

York. Alencon ! that notorious Machiavel ! 
't dies an if it had a thousand lives. 

Joan. O! give me leave, I have deluded you: 76 

J9 misconceived: deluded ones 61 warranteth : offers security 

4 that notorious Machiavel; cf. n. 



98 The First Part of 

'Twas neither Charles, nor yet the duke I nam'd, 
But Reignier, King of Naples, that prevail'd. 

War. A married man: that's most intolerable. 

York. Why, here's a girl! I think she knows not I 
well, 
There were so many, whom she may aecuse. 

War. It's sign she hath been liberal and free. 

York. And yet, forsooth, she is a virgin pure. 
Strumpet, thy words condemn thy brat and thee: S4 
Use no entreaty, for it is in vain. 

Joan. Then lead me hence; with whom I leave my\ 
curse : 
May never glorious sun reflex his beams 
Upon the country where you make abode; S8i 

But darkness and the gloomy shade of death 
Environ you, till mischief and despair 
Drive you to break your necks or hang yourselves ! 

Exit [guarded]. 

York. Break thou in pieces and consume ta 

ashes, 92 

Thou foul accursed minister of hell! 

Enter Cardinal. 

Car. Lord regent, I do greet your excellence 
With letters of commission from the king. 
For know, my lords, the states of Christendom, 96 
Mov'd with remorse of these outrageous broils, 
Have earnestly implor'd a general peace 
Betwixt our nation and the aspiring French; 
And here at hand the Dauphin, and his train, 100 

Approacheth to confer about some matter. 

York. Is all our travail turn'd to this effect? 
After the slaughter of so many peers, 

87 reflex: cast 



King Henry the Sixth, V, iv 99 

So many captains, gentlemen, and soldiers, 104 

That in this quarrel have been overthrown, 

And sold their bodies for their country's benefit, 

Shall we at last conclude effeminate peace? 

Have we not lost most part of all the towns, 108 

By treason, falsehood, and by treachery, 

Our great progenitors had conquered? 

O ! Warwick, Warwick ! I foresee with grief 

The utter loss of all the realm of France. 112 

War. Be patient, York: if we conclude a peace, 
It shall be with such strict and severe covenants 
As little shall the Frenchmen gain thereby. 

Enter Charles, Alencon, Bastard, Reignier [and 
Others]. 

Char. Since, lords of England, it is thus 
agreed, 116 

That peaceful truce shall be proclaim'd in France, 
We come to be informed by yourselves 
What the conditions of that league must be. 

York. Speak, Winchester; for boiling choler 
chokes 120 

The hollow passage of my poison'd voice, 
By sight of these our baleful enemies. 

Car. Charles, and the rest, it is enacted thus: 
That, in regard King Henry gives consent, 124 

Of mere compassion and of lenity, 
To ease your country of distressful war, 
\nd suffer you to breathe in fruitful peace, 
STou shall become true liegemen to his crown: 128 

\nd, Charles, upon condition thou wilt swear 
To pay him tribute, and submit thyself, 
Thou shalt be plac'd as viceroy under him, 

21 poison'd; cf. n. 



ioo The First Part of 

And still enjoy thy regal dignity. 13 

A len. Must he be, then, as shadow of himself? 
Adorn his temples with a coronet, 
And yet, in substance and authority, 
Retain but privilege of a private man? 13€ 

This proffer is absurd and reasonless. 

Char. 'Tis known already that I am possess'd 
With more than half the Gallian territories, 
And therein reverenc'd for their lawful king: 14C 

Shall I, for lucre of the rest unvanquish'd, 
Detract so much from that prerogative 
As to be call'd but viceroy of the whole? 
No, lord ambassador; I'll rather keep 144 

That which I have than, coveting for more, 
Be cast from possibility of all. 

York. Insulting Charles ! hast thou by secret means 
Us'd intercession to obtain a league, 14? 

And now the matter grows to compromise, 
Stand'st thou aloof upon comparison? 
Either accept the title thou usurp'st, 
Of benefit proceeding from our king 152 

And not of any challenge of desert, 
Or we will plague thee with incessant wars. 

Reig. My lord, you do not well in obstinacy 
To cavil in the course of this contract: 156 

If once it be neglected, ten to one, 
We shall not find like opportunity. 

A len. [Aside to Charles.] To say the truth, it is 
your policy 
To save your subjects from such massacre 16G 

And ruthless slaughters as are daily seen 
By our proceeding in hostility; 



141 lucre: desire of gain 149 grows to: approaches 

150 comparison: quibbling rhetoric 
152 Of benefit: by way of bounty 



King Henry the Sixth, V.v 101 

And therefore take this compact of a truce, 
Although you break it when your pleasure serves. 

War. How sayst thou, Charles? shall our condition 
stand ? 165 

Char. It shall; 
Only reserv'd, you claim no interest 
In any of our towns of garrison. 

York. Then swear allegiance to his majesty; 169 

As thou art knight, never to disobey 
Nor be rebellious to the crown of England, 
Thou, nor thy nobles, to the crown of England. 

[Charles, fyc, give tokens of fealty.] 
So, now dismiss your army when ye please ; 173 

Hang up your ensigns, let your drums be still, 
For here we entertain a solemn peace. Exeunt. 



Scene Five 
[London. A Room in the Palace] 

Enter Suffolk in conference with the King, Glouces- 
ter, and Exeter. 

King. Your wondrous rare description, noble earl, 
Df beauteous Margaret hath astonish'd me: 
Her virtues, graced with external gifts 
Do breed love's settled passions in my heart: 4 

\nd like as rigour of tempestuous gusts 
Provokes the mightiest hulk against the tide, 
50 am I driven by breath of her renown 
Either to suffer shipwrack, or arrive 8 

Vhere I may have fruition of her love. 

Suf. Tush! my good lord, this superficial tale 
s but a preface of her worthy praise: 

he chief perfections of that lovely dame — 12 



102 The First Part O] 



Had I sufficient skill to utter them — 
Would make a volume of enticing lines, 
Able to ravish any dull conceit: 
And, which is more, she is not so divine, 
So full replete with choice of all delights, 
But with as humble lowliness of mind 
She is content to be at your command: 
Command, I mean, of virtuous chaste intents, 
To love and honour Henry as her lord. 

King. And otherwise will Henry ne'er presume 
Therefore, my Lord Protector, give consent 
That Margaret may be England's royal queen. 

Glo. So should I give consent to flatter sin. 
You know, my lord, your highness is betroth'd 
Unto another lady of esteem ; 
How shall we then dispense with that contract, 
And not deface your honour with reproach? 

Suf. As doth a ruler with unlawful oaths; 
Or one that, at a triumph having vow'd 
To try his strength, forsaketh yet the lists 81 

By reason of his adversary's odds. 
A poor earl's daughter is unequal odds, 
And therefore may be broke without offence. 

Glo. Why, what, I pray, is Margaret more thar 

that ? 3< 

Her father is no better than an earl, 

Although in glorious titles he excel. 

Suf. Yes, my lord, her father is a king, 
The King of Naples and Jerusalem; 4( 

And of such great authority in France 
As his alliance will confirm our peace, 
And keep the Frenchmen in allegiance. 

Glo. And so the Earl of Armagnac may do, 44 

15 conceit: imagination 31 triumph: toumamenx 



King Henry the Sixth, V.v 103 

Because he is near kinsman unto Charles. 

Exe. Beside, his wealth doth warrant a liberal 
dower, 
Where Reignier sooner will receive than give. 

Suf. A dower, my lords ! disgrace not . so your 
king, 48 

That he should be so abject, base, and poor, 
To choose for wealth and not for perfect love. 
Henry is able to enrich his queen, 

And not to seek a queen to make him rich: 52 

So worthless peasants bargain for their wives, 
As market-men for oxen, sheep, or horse. 
Marriage is a matter of more worth 
Than to be dealt in by attorneyship: 56 

Not whom we will, but whom his Grace affects, 
Must be companion of his nuptial bed; 
And therefore, lords, since he affects her most 
It most of all these reasons bindeth us, 60 

In our opinions she should be preferr'd. 
For what is wedlock forced, but a hell, 
An age of discord and continual strife? 
Whereas the contrary bringeth bliss, 64 

And is a pattern of celestial peace. 
Whom should we match with Henry, being a king, 
But Margaret, that is daughter to a king? 
Her peerless feature, joined with her birth, 68 

Approves her fit for none but for a king: 
Her valiant courage and undaunted spirit — 
More than in women commonly is seen — 
Will answer our hope in issue of a king; 72 

For Henry, son unto a conqueror, 
Is likely to beget more conquerors, 

56 by attorneyship: by the shrewd calculation of third parties 
68 feature: form of body 



104 The First Part of 

If with a lady of so high resolve 

As is fair Margaret he be link'd in love. 76 

Then yield, my lords ; and here conclude with me 
That Margaret shall be queen, and none but she. 

King. Whether it be through force of your report, 
My noble lord of Suffolk, or for that 80 

My tender youth was never yet attaint 
With any passion of inflaming love, 
I cannot tell ; but this I am assur'd, 
I feel such sharp dissension in my breast, 84 

Such fierce alarums both of hope and fear, 
As I am sick with working of my thoughts. 
Take, therefore, shipping; post, my lord, to France; 
Agree to any covenants, and procure 88 

That Lady Margaret do vouchsafe to come 
To cross the seas to England and be crown'd 
King Henry's faithful and anointed queen: 
For your expenses and sufficient charge, 92 

Among the people gather up a tenth. 
Be gone, I say; for till you do return 
I rest perplexed with a thousand cares. 
And you, good uncle, banish all offence: 96 

If you do censure me by what you were, 
Not what you are, I know it will excuse 
This sudden execution of my will. 
And so, conduct me, where from company 100 

I may revolve and ruminate my grief. Exit. 

Glo. Ay, grief, I fear me, both at first and last. 

Exit Gloucester [with Exeter]. 

Suf. Thus Suffolk hath prevail'd ; and thus he goes, 
As did the youthful Paris once to Greece; 104 

With hope to find the like event in love, 

92 charge: money to spend 93 gather up a tenth; cf. n. 

100 from company: unaccompanied 105 event: outcome 



King Henry the Sixth, V.v 105 

But prosper better than the Trojan did. 
Margaret shall now be queen, and rule the king; 
But I will rule both her, the king, and realm. 108 

Exit, 

FINIS. 



NOTES 

The First Part of Henry the Sixth. The numeral is 
invariably spelled 'Sixt' in the old editions, the new 
form of the word being very rare in Shakespeare's 
time. So 'fift' for 'fifth/ as for instance in the open- 
ing stage direction and in line 6 below. 

I. i. 1. Hung be the heavens with black. This 
meteorological reference receives added point from 
the Elizabethan practice of draping the stage in black 
when a tragedy was to be acted. Cf., for example, 
lines 74, 75 of the Induction to A Warning for Fair 
Women (perhaps by Thomas Hey wood), printed in 
1599: 

'The stage is hung with black, and I perceive 
The auditors prepar'd for Tragedy.' 

The play cited was acted by Shakespeare's company. 

I. i. 50. marish. Pope's emendation for the 
Nourish (i.e., nurse ?) of the Folios, which many mod- 
ern editors retain. 

I. i. 60, 61. These lines illustrate the freedom with 
which the play everywhere alters historic fact. Two 
of the places named, Orleans and Poitiers, were not 
in English possession. The others were not lost till 
periods varying from seven to nearly thirty years 
after the date represented in the scene. Possibly we 
should understand that the first Messenger is report- 
ing exaggerated rumors. His statement in regard to 
Orleans is contradicted by what the third Messenger 
says in line 157 (cf. also line 111). 

I. i. 92. Another anachronism. The crowning of 
Charles VII at Rheims, the culmination of Joan of 
Arc's triumphs, actually occurred seven years later 
(July 12, 1429). Charles had, however, been 



King Henry the Sixth 107 

crowned at Poitiers in 1422. The Bastard of 
Orleans, mentioned in the next line, was Jean, Count 
Dunois (1402-1468), illegitimate son of the Duke of 
Orleans and first cousin of Charles VII. He was one 
of the finest soldiers of his age, and is introduced in 
a conspicuous role in Schiller's play, Die Jungfrau 
von Orleans, as well as in Voltaire's earlier mock- 
heroic, La Pucelle d'Orleans. 

I. i. 110, 111. The tenth of August last . . . the 
siege of Orleans. These lines and those which follow 
describe the Battle of Patay (June 18, 1429), of 
which another account is introduced in IV. i. 19-26. 
The general issue of the battle is correctly given and 
it is rightly said to have followed the British retire- 
ment from the siege of Orleans (May 8, 1429) ; but 
the allusion to Patay in the present lines is out of 
place, since the raising of the siege of Orleans is 
portrayed in a later part of the play (I. v and vi). 

I. i. 116. wanted pikes to set before his archers. 
The military tactics of the day directed that the 
archers, often stationed on the flanks of the army, 
should be protected from charges of cavalry by rows 
of pikes fixed in the ground, points outward. Hol- 
inshed's statement is that the English set their pikes 
(stakes) before the archers in the usual way, but had 
no time afterwards to arrange their line of battle. 

I. i. 124. flew. The Folios have the easy mis- 
print 'slew' (with long s), which a very few editors 
are quixotic enough to champion. 

I. i. 131. Sir John Fastolfe. This episode of 
Fastolfe's cowardice is four times employed in the 
play. Cf. I. iv. 35-37; III. ii. 104-109; IV. i. 9-47. 
Modern historians represent Fastolfe as a general of 
distinction and of unblemished valor, but the chroni- 
clers of Shakespeare's day accepted the libel incor- 
porated in the play. The chief interest of the figure 
here is his connection with the great Falstaff of the 
Henry IV plays. It is to be noted that the early 



108 The First Part of 

editions of the present play invariably call Fastolfe 
Sir John Falstaffe, a fact which suggests that, in the 
minds of the editors of the First Folio, at least, the 
two were identified. J. B. Henneman (JPubl. Mod. 
Lang. Assoc, xv, 1900) gives a number of reasons 
for assuming that when Shakespeare chose the name 
Falstaff for the fat knight of Henry IV and The 
Merry Wives of Windsor (originally called Sir John 
Oldcastle), he was actuated by reminiscence of 
Fastolfe in the present play. L. W. V. Harcourt 
identifies Falstaff with another Sir John Fastolf. See 
the articles on Fastolf mentioned in Appendix E. 

I. i. 132. in the vaward, — plac'd behind. Almost 
a contradiction in terms, which editors have sought to 
harmonize by emendation ('rearward' for vaward) 
or by casuistry. The most reasonable interpretation 
is perhaps that of H. C. Hart: 'Fastolfe was in sup- 
port (placed behind) of the vanguard, which was 
probably led by Talbot himself.' 

I. i. 148. His ransom there is none but I shall pay. 
An ambiguous line which may be paraphrased in two 
ways: (1) 'I will pay any ransom that may be 
named'; (2) 'I alone will pay his ransom/ i.e., leave 
it to me. 

I. i. 154. Saint George's feast. Properly, April 
23 (the day of Shakespeare's death and traditionally 
his birthday). Bonfires in honor of St. George, how- 
ever, would be appropriate on any day of English 
victory. 

I. i. 162. your oaths to Henry sworn. Holinshed 
relates how Henry V on his deathbed admonished the 
Dukes of Bedford and Gloucester and the Earls of 
Salisbury and Warwick never to make a treaty with 
the Dauphin by which any part of France might be 
relinquished, and how he commanded Bedford as 
Regent of France 'with fire and sword to persecute 
the Dolphin, till he had either brought him to reason 
and obeisance, or else to driue and expell him out of 



King Henry the Sixth 109 

the realme of France.' He adds: 'The noble men 
present promised to obserue his precepts, and to per- 
forme his desires.' 

I. i. 170. Eltham. A village nine miles southeast 
of London, on the road to Dartford and Canterbury. 
The Palace, of which picturesque remains still exist, 
was a favorite residence of the English sovereigns 
from the thirteenth to the middle of the sixteenth 
century. In line 176, steal is a modern emendation 
(by Mason) for 'send' of the Folios. Though not 
inevitable, the change is supported by the rime, fre- 
quent at the close of scenes, and it has been adopted 
in most recent texts. On the other hand, support for 
the Folio reading may perhaps be found in the words 
of Holinshed, who refers to Winchester's alleged pur- 
pose 'to set hand on the kings person, and to haue 
remooued him from Eltham, the place that he was in, 
to Windsor.' 

I. ii. 1. Mars his true moving. The planet Mars 
has a very eccentric orbit, and his apparently irregu- 
lar course puzzled astronomers till explained by 
Kepler in 1609. Editors have noted a strikingly 
similar allusion in Thomas Nashe's preface to Have 
with you to Saffron Walden (1596): 'you are as 
ignorant ... as the Astronomers are in the true 
mouings of Mars, which to this day they could neuer 
attaine too.' (McKerrow's Nashe, iii. 20.) 

I. ii. 56. the nine sibyls of old Rome. The 
Curnaean Sibyl offered King Tarquin nine books. The 
poet has transferred the number to the sibyls them- 
selves, of whom various numbers (but not nine) are 
reckoned. 

I. ii. 105. the sword of Deborah. Cf. Judges, 
chapters 4 and 5. 

I. ii. 110. Excellent Pucelle, if thy name be so. 
Holinshed's Chronicle introduces Joan of Arc as 
'lone Are' or more fully, 'lone de Are, Pusell de 
dieu.' The Folio text of the play usually refers to 



no The First Part of 

her simply as Pucelle (spelled 'Puzel' or 'Pucell'). 
The stage direction after line 63 of this scene calls 
her 'Ioane Puzel/ that after line 103 'Ioane de 
Puzel' (so also in I. vi. 3 and V. iii. S. d.). In II. i 
and V. iv she appears as 'Ioane/ but is only twice 
called Joan of Arc ('Acre' or 'Aire' in the Folio; cf. 
II. ii. 20 and V. iv. 49). Mr. Fleay attempted to 
find in these differences of name a clue to the play's 
authorship. 

I. ii. 131. Saint Martin's summer. Summer in 
the midst of autumn. The reference is to the unsea- 
sonably warm weather often occurring about St. 
Martin's Day (November 11). 

I. ii. 138, 139. The allusion is to a common but 
probably unhistoric story recorded in Plutarch's Life 
of Caesar. During the war with Pompey, when the 
latter's navy commanded the sea, Caesar embarked 
on a small pinnace incognito 'as if he had bene some 
poore man of meane condition/ with the idea of 
crossing to his army at Brundisium. A storm arose 
and the commander of the vessel ordered his men to 
put back. 'Caesar, hearing that, straight discouered 
himselfe vnto the Maister of the pynnase, who at the 
first was amazed when he saw him: but Caesar then 
taking him by the hand sayd vnto him, Good fellow, 
be of good cheare, and forwards hardily, feare not, 
for thou hast Caesar & his fortune with thee.' (North's 
translation, 1579.) Peele mentions the episode in a 
similar manner in his Faretvell to Norris and Drake 
(1589): 

'and let me say 
To you, my mates, as Caesar said to his, 
Striving with Neptune's hills; you bear, quoth he, 
Caesar, and Caesar's fortune in your ships.' 

I. ii. 140. Was Mahomet inspired with a dove? 
This alludes to a trick ascribed to Mahomet by several 
Elizabethan writers. Thomas Nashe has two refer- 
ences to it, and Nashe's most recent editor quotes the 



King Henry the Sixth 1 1 1 

following from an earlier work, Strange Things out of 
Seb. Munster (1574) : 'For he [Mahomet] accustomed 
and taught a Doue to be fedde and fetch meate [i.e., 
food] at his eares, the which Doue his moste subtile 
and craftye maister called the holy Ghoste. He 
preached openly, and made his bragges like a most 
lying villen that this Doue did shew vnto him the 
most secrete counsel of God, as often as the simple 
fowle did flye vnto his eares for nourishment.' (Mc- 
Kerrow's Nashe, iv. 200.) 

I. ii. 142. Helen, the mother of great Constantine. 
The reputed discoverer of the True Cross. Two 
frescoes representing this legend adorned the Guild 
Chapel at Stratford in Shakespeare's time. See 
reproductions in Ward, Shakespeare's Town and 
Times, p. 33. 

I. ii. 143. Saint Philip's daughters. Referred to 
in Acts 21. 9 as Virgins, which did prophesy.' 

I. iii. 19. The Cardinal of Winchester. Editors 
have pointed out that the mention of Winchester's 
cardinalate in this scene is inconsistent with the fact 
that he is represented as only just made cardinal in 
V. i. 28 ff. and is called bishop in III. i. 53 and IV. i. 
1. Winchester became cardinal in 1427, but the 
chroniclers report that there had been much previous 
talk of his probable elevation. 

I. iii. 22. Woodvile. Holinshed records that when 
Gloucester wished to enter the Tower, 'Richard 
Wooduile esquier (hauing at that time the charge of 
the keeping of the Tower) refused his desire; and 
kept the same Tower against him vndulie and against 
reason, by the commandement of my said lord of 
Winchester.' Woodvile became a person of great 
consequence upon the marriage, nearly forty years 
later, of his daughter to Edward IV, and in 1466 was 
created Earl Rivers. 

I. iii. 34. Thou that contriv'dst to murder our 
dead lord. The fourth of five charges brought 



112 The First Part of 

against Winchester by Gloucester (in 1426) relates 
to the former's alleged complicity in an attempt to 
murder the Prince of Wales, later Henry V. The 
same scandal has been more obscurely insinuated by 
Gloucester in I. i. 33, 34. 

I. iii. 35. The disorderly houses on the South- 
wark bank of the Thames were under the control of 
the Bishop of Winchester and paid him a revenue. 
The proximity of these houses to the Rose Theatre, 
where this play appears to have been first acted (and 
to the later Globe), doubtless gave point to the 
allusion. 

I. iii. 39. This be Damascus, be thou cursed Cain. 
Several popular mediaeval works (Mandeville's 
Travels, Higden's Polychronicon) gave currency to 
the belief that Abel was slain on the site of Damascus. 

I. iv. 23-56. This passage involves several an- 
achronisms. Salisbury's mortal wound was received 
at Orleans in October, 1428. Talbot was captured at 
Patay in June, 1429, and was not released by ex- 
change with Santrailles till 1433. 

I. iv. 95. Plantagenet. Montacute, not Plantage- 
net, was Salisbury's name. Furthermore, the appella- 
tion Plantagenet was not adopted by the English 
royal family till after Salisbury's death. It first 
appears in public records in 1460, being revived by 
one of the characters in this play, Richard Duke of 
York, as a means of expressing superiority of descent 
over the Lancastrian line (cf. D. N. B. s. v. Plan- 
tagenet). 

like thee. The reading of the First Folio, meaning 
'I will be as unconcernedly remorseless as you have 
been.' The next line carries with it a subordinate 
reminiscence of the well-known story of Nero, which 
led the later Folios to alter like thee to 'Nero-like 
will.' Malone then blended the two readings into the 
vapid 'like thee, Nero,' a perversion which nearly all 
modern editors have unfortunately accepted. 



King Henry the Sixth 1 1 3 

I. iv. 107. dolphin or dogfish. Dogfish, a small 
shark, was commonly used as an opprobrious epithet. 
Dolphin is the invariable form of the French title 
Dauphin in the early editions of the play. Modern 
editors substitute the present spelling in all cases 
except this, where the pun requires retention of the 
older form. It should be remarked that the Dauphin 
of the play was from the legitimist French point of 
view King of France (Charles VII) through the 
entire course of the action, since the death of his 
father, Charles VI, occurred only two months after 
that of Henry V. The English, however, ignored 
Charles VII's pretensions to the throne and continued 
to employ his old title. 

I. v. 6. Blood will I draw on thee, thou art a 
witch. Johnson asserted the existence of a super- 
stition that 'he that could draw the witch's blood was 
free from her power' ; but no confirmation of this has 
apparently been found in Elizabethan literature. 

I. v. 14 S. d. Joan here goes from the lower to 
the upper stage of the Elizabethan theatre, lines 15- 
1I8 being spoken from the upper or balcony stage. 

I. v. 21. like Hannibal. The allusion is perhaps 
to the stratagem recorded by Livy (bk. xxii. c. 16, 
17) ; Hannibal extricated his forces from an unfavor- 
able position by driving against Fabius's army during 
the night two thousand oxen with blazing fagots tied 
to their horns. 

I. v. 28. tear the lions out of England's coat. 
The armorial dress of the kings of England was em- 
broidered with three lions (or leopards). 

I. vi. 4. Astrcea's daughter. That is, daughter of 
Justice, in allusion to the myth that Astraea forsook 
the world when it became corrupt, and carried her 
divine scales to the constellation of Libra. Spenser 
develops the legend elaborately at the opening of 
the fifth book of the Fairy Queen; and Peele's 
Descensus Astrceoe turns it into a pageant in honor 



H4 The First Part o) 

of the installation of a new lord mayor of Londor 
in 1591. 

I. vi. 6. Adonis' gardens. What these were ir 
classic literature has been acrimoniously disputed 
but a beautiful and extended description, which per-j 
haps inspired the present line, is given by Spenser j 
Fairy Queen, bk. iii. canto vi. 

I. vi. 22. Rhodope's of Memphis. One of the 
most beautiful pyramids was said to have been built 
by Rhodope, a Greek courtesan who married the king 
of Memphis. The reading in the text is a conjecture 
of Capell for 'Rhodophes or Memphis' of the Folios; 

I. vi. 25. the rich-jewell'd coffer of Darius j 
Alexander the Great is said to have kept Homer's: 
poems under his pillow at night and during the day* 
to have carried them 'in the rich iewel cofer of; 
Darius, lately before vanquished by him in battaile.' 
(Puttenham, Art of English Poesie, 1589.) 

II. i. 7 S. d. dead march. The dead march is in 
honor of Salisbury, whose body is carried with the: 
army. Cf. line 4 of the next scene. (Hart.) 

II. i. 8. redoubted Burgundy. Philip the Good, 
Duke of Burgundy, had been alienated from the 
Dauphin by the treacherous murder of his father in 
1419. He was the ally of the English from the time 
of the treaty of Troyes (1420) till 1435. He was 
the second cousin of Charles VII and father of the 
famous Charles the Bold. 

II. i. 38 S. d. The French leap o'er the walls in 
their shirts. This entire episode, which the dramatist 
has transferred to Orleans, is based upon an incident 
that really occurred in May, 1428 (a year before the 
relief of Orleans), at Le Mans in the adjacent prov- 
ince of Maine. Holinshed, following earlier chroni- 
clers, records that the Frenchmen, surprised by an 
early morning counter-attack, 'got vp in their shirts, 
and lept ouer the walles.' 



King Henry the Sixth i is 

II. iii. 6. ^(* Scythian Tomyris by Cyrus* death. 
The story of Herodotus is that Tomyris, Queen of 
the Massagetae, led her troops to battle after her 
husband's death, slew Cyrus the Great (B. C. 529), 
and in scorn of his bloodthirstiness dropped his 
severed head into a wine skin filled with blood. Com- 
pare the countess's address to Talbot in line 34. 

II. iii. 22. this is a child, a silly dwarf. The 
countess exaggerates greatly. Talbot was eighty 
years of age when he fell in battle, and the exami- 
nation of his bones, when they were exhumed in 1874, 
showed that he could not have been undersized. 'The 
bones generally were remarkably well developed, and 
had evidently belonged to a muscular man.' 

II. iv. 6. Or else was wrangling Somerset in th f 
error? Capell changed error to 'right' and Rolfe, 
retaining the old text, wished to interpret else as 'in 
other words.' Neither, probably, is justified. Rich- 
ard's apparent alternatives amount to the same thing. 
From craft or from impetuosity he leaves the hearers 
to whom he appeals but one answer. It is 'heads, I 
win; tails, Somerset loses.' 

II. iv. 7. Faith, I have been a truant in the law. 
Shakespeare brilliantly imagines the quarrel of the 
roses to have started among a group of young aristo- 
crats, studying law in the Temple. 

II. iv. 81. the yeoman. Somerset's slur is ex- 
plained in his next speech. The execution of Plan- 
agenet's father for treason (as recorded in the play 
>f Henry V) deprived his heir of all titles of 
lobility. Lionel of Clarence, third son of Edward 
[II, was not the grandfather, as Warwick states in 
ine 83, but the great-great-grandfather of Plantage- 
let. See the genealogical table on next page. 

II. iv. 96. attached, not attainted. Literally, 
irrested, but not formally condemned, as by bill of 
tttainder, to the legal consequences of treason. It 
s evident that the speaker is splitting hairs, but it 



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King Henry the Sixth 1 17 

does appear that Richard was permitted to succeed 
to his inheritances without the formal restoration to 
his blood which the play represents (III. i. 148 ff.). 
See D. N. B. 

II. v. 6. Nestor-like aged, in an age of care. That 
is, trebly aged by care. 'The care that has afflicted 
my life has made me as old as Nestor' (who lived 
through three mortal lifetimes). 

II. v. 7. Edmund Mortimer. The poet adopts 
without essential alteration the statement of the 
chroniclers. Holinshed says : 'Edmund Mortimer, the 
last earle of March of that name (which long time 
had beene restreined from his libertie . . .) deceassed 
without issue; whose inheritance descended to the 
lord Richard Plantagenet.' Modern commentators 
point out that the chronicles, and with them Shake- 
speare, are wrong, since this Mortimer died in free- 
dom in 1424. Apparently, they confused Edmund 
Mortimer, Earl of March, with his cousin, Sir John 
Mortimer, who after long captivity was executed in 
the same year (1424). It is evident, moreover, from 
the use of the word 'mother' rather than 'grand- 
mother' in line 74, that Shakespeare further confuses 
Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, with an older 
Edmund Mortimer, his uncle, just as he does in the 
first part of Henry IV. (See note on I. iii. 145, 146 
of that play in the present edition.) 

II. v. 96. the rest I wish thee gather. Probably 
gather is used in the well-authenticated Shakespear- 
ean sense of 'infer,' and Mortimer desires cautiously 
to remind his nephew of the full significance of his 
heirship; namely, the claim to the crown that it 
carries with it. 

II. v. 129. 'Or make my injuries an instrument for 
attaining my ambition.' The Folios read 'will' instead 
of ill, the latter being one of Theobald's convincing 
emendations. 



118 The First Part of 

III. i. The historical place of this scene was 
Leicester, where Parliament met in 1426 (three years 
before the relief of Orleans depicted in Act I). 
Line 77 shows, however, that the dramatist thought 
of the events as occurring in London. King Henry, 
who plays a precocious part in the scene, was 
actually in his fifth year. 

III. i. 22, 23. Gloucester's third charge against! 
Winchester, as reported by the chroniclers, was thatt 
he had put men at arms and archers in ambush att 
the Southwark end of London Bridge, with intent I 
to slay the Protector if he attempted to pass that 
way to the young king at Eltham. The reference to 
the trap laid at the Tower alludes of course to the 
incident dramatized in I. iii. 

III. i. 51. Rome . . . Roam. The words were 
not identical in sound. Elsewhere in Shakespeare 
Rome rimes with 'doom,' 'groom,' 'room,' — words 
which have not essentially changed their pronuncia- 
tion, while roam has presumably the vowel sound in 
modern 'broad.' Probably the pun in the present 
line was consciously inexact. Otherwise one might 
argue that Shakespeare was not its author. 

III. i. 63. enter talk. On the precedent of the 
participle entertalking in Golding's translation of 
Ovid (1565-67), Hart changed this phrase to a single 
word: entertalk. The New English Dictionary does 
not recognize the word. 

III. i. 78-85. This reference to the use of pebble 
stones, when weapons were forbidden the adherents 
of the contending noblemen, appears to show that 
the author of the scene had recourse to the ancient 
chronicler Fabyan. The episode is not mentioned by 
Holinshed. 

III. i. 163-165. Richard Plantagenet inherited the 
earldom of Cambridge from his father and the duke- 
dom of York from his father's elder brother, who had 
died (at Agincourt; cf. Henry V, IV. vi.) without 



King Henry the Sixth 1 19 

issue. To these great estates were added by inherit- 
ance from his mother's side the titles of the Morti- 
mers, Earls of March. 

III. i. 178, 179. King Henry's voyage to France 
occurred at the close of 1431, five years after the 
Parliament of Leicester which furnished the material 
for the opening portion of this scene. 

III. i. 185 S. d. Sennet. A sennet was a trumpet 
signal to mark the approach or departure of a pro- 
cession. 

III. i. 194. that fatal prophecy. The prophecy 
was very well known in Shakespeare's time — more so, 
doubtless, than in Henry Vs. Holinshed thus re- 
ports it: 'The king, being certified [of the birth of 
his son at Windsor] gaue God thanks . . . But, 
when he heard reported the place of his natiuitie, 
were it that he [had been] warned by some prophesie, 
or had some foreknowledge, or else iudged himselfe 
of his sonnes fortune, he said vnto the lord Fitz 
Hugh, his trustie chamberleine, these words: "My 
lord, I Henrie, borne at Monmouth, shall small time 
reigne, & much get; and Henrie, borne at Windsore, 
shall long reigne, and all loose: but as God will, so 
be it." ' 

III. ii. S. d. The story of the capture of Rouen 
is apocryphal. This city remained in the hands of 
the English till 1449, eighteen years after Joan of 
Arc had been burned there. The particular stratagem 
here related may have been suggested by two differ- 
ent anecdotes found in the chroniclers, one referring 
to the capture of the castle of Cornill (Corville ?) by 
the English, the other to the capture of Le Mans by 
the French. 

III. ii. 22. Where. This is Rowe's emendation, 
adopted regularly by subsequent editors. The Folios 
read Here, which may well be defended: Joan's signal 
is not to distinguish the safest passageway, but to 



120 The First Part of 

indicate the practicability of that by which she 
entered. 

III. ii. 28. Talbonites. A derivative formed from 
a Latinized version of Talbot's name: Talbo, Tal- 
bonis (though Talbottus is the form used by Camden) . 
Modern editors seem all to accept Theobald's ca- 
cophonous emendation, 'Talbotites.' N. E. D. rec- 
ognizes neither word. 

III. ii. 40. the pride of France. Compare the 
pride of Gallia (IV. vi. 15). These sonorous phrases 
mean hardly more than 'the French.' They are 
echoes of Marlowe, who had rung the changes upon 
'the pride of Asia/ 'the pride of Graecia.' 

III. ii. 40 S. d. Alencon. The Folios make 
Reignier enter here, not Aleneon, and for the speak- 
er's name in lines 23 and 33 above they have 'Reig./ 
not 'Alen/ This, probably, is only a careless slip. 
It is not at all likely that Alencon and Reignier were 
both on the walls (upper stage) in addition to 
Charles, Joan, and the Bastard; and the three cases 
just noted are the only mentions of Reignier in this 
scene or the next. 

III. ii. 50. good grey-beard. John, Duke of Bed- 
ford, third son of Henry IV, was only about forty- 
five years of age when he died in 1435. Here his 
death is antedated, being thrown back into the life- 
time of Joan, whom he actually survived by four 
years, and his age is greatly exaggerated. Bedford 
is called by Hume 'the most accomplished prince of 
his age, a skilful politician, as well as a good gen- 
eral.' Shakespeare, in the second part of Henry IV, 
paints an unfavorable portrait of him in his youth, as 
Prince John of Lancaster. 

III. ii. 81. And as his father here was conqueror. 
Henry V captured Rouen in 1518, after a long siege. 
Shakespeare's play of Henry V does not allude to 
this conquest. 

III. ii. 82, 83. Holinshed tells how Richard I 



King Henry the Sixth 121 

'willed his heart to be conueied vnto Rouen, and 
there buried; in testimonie of the loue which he had 
euer borne vnto that citie for the stedfast faith and 
tried loialtie at all times found in the citizens there.' 

III. ii. 95, 96. This story is told of Uther Pen- 
dragon (King Arthur's father) by Geoffrey of Mon- 
mouth, followed by Malory (I. iv) and by Harding. 
Holinshed's later compilation refers the exploit to 
Pendragon's brother. Marlowe's Tamburlaine simi- 
larly puts his foes to flight when afflicted with mortal 
sickness. 

III. iii. 19, 20. Burgundy's actual abandonment 
of the English for the French occurred several years 
after Joan's death. Knight, however, called attention 
to a letter (which the authors of the play can hardly 
have known), written by Joan to Burgundy on the 
very day of Charles VII's coronation at Rheims 
(July 17, 1429). In this she makes use of much the 
same arguments as in the scene before us. 

III. iii. 69-73. The facts, as accurately stated by 
the chroniclers, are here greatly distorted. The Duke 
of Orleans, captured at Agincourt in 1415, was kept 
prisoner in England till 1440. His release thus took 
place five years after Burgundy's defection, and is 
stated to have been largely by reason of Burgundy's 
efforts. 

III. iii. 85. Done like a Frenchman, etc. The 
apparent inconsistency of this line in Joan's mouth 
has been much discussed. It is not in character, but 
is a clear appeal from the original author of the play 
to the prejudice of his audience. Hart thinks that 
Joan, as an inhabitant of Lorraine, 'would not hesi- 
tate to speak thus of the French people.' But if 
Lorraine was not strictly French, neither was Bur- 
gundy. Warburton suggested that the line was 'an 
offering of the poet to his royal mistress's resentment 
for Henry the Fourth's last great turn in religion, in 



122 The First Part of 

the year 1593/ i.e., his renunciation of Protes- 
tantism. 

III. iv. 18. I do remember how my father said. 
Malone acutely cited this line in defence of his 
contention that this play is not by Shakespeare or 
by the author of the early versions of 2 and 8 Henry 
VI. The author of the present play, he argued, did 
not know that Henry VI was a nine-months' infant 
when his father died. Shakespeare did know this (cf. 
Epilogue to Henry V), and so did the author of the 
True Tragedy (3 Henry VI), neither of whom could 
therefore have written Part I. On the other hand, 
it might be explained that we have here one of 
Shakespeare's purposeful tamperings with dramatic 
time. There is an advantage in making the King 
appear older than he really was without reminding 
the reader that the whole long time from infancy to 
maturity has elapsed since the play began (with the 
funeral of Henry V). 

III. iv. 26. We here create you Earl of Shrews- 
bury. Talbot was thus ennobled in 1442, eleven years 
after the coronation of Henry, to which the king in- 
vites him in the next line. 

III. iv. 38, 39. 'By the ancient common law . . . 
striking in the king's court of justice, or drawing a 
sword therein, was a capital felony.' (Blackstone.) 

IV. i. Henneman notes the 'curious relation' which 
this scene bears to the previous one (III. iv). 'Both 
have the King in Paris; both have identically the 
same actors; both have the same two situations, viz., 
Talbot's interview with the King, and the quarrel of 
Vernon and Basset, the followers respectively of York 
and Somerset. But the second scene is developed 
far beyond the former, and the spirit of the two is 
equally different. One is condensed and compressed; 
the other elaborated and heightened by fresh details.' 
Annotators have observed that when Henry VI was 



King Henry the Sixth 123 

crowned at Paris (1431), Talbot was still a prisoner 
to the French, Exeter was dead, and Gloucester in 
England serving as the King's lieutenant. 

IV. i. 19. Patay. The Folios erroneously print 
'Poictiers,' doubtless from confusion in the composi- 
tor's mind with the Black Prince's great victory at 
Poitiers seventy-three years before (1356). For the 
battle of Patay, cf. note on I. i. 110, 111. 

IV. i. 181 S. d. Flourish. Modern editors place 
this 'Flourish' in the stage direction following line 
173, after the exit of the king. It probably belongs 
there. 

IV. ii. A lapse of twenty-two years, from Henry's 
coronation (1431) to Talbot's last campaign (1453), 
is covered rather skilfully by the concluding portion 
of the previous scene. 

IV. ii. 10, 11. my three attendants, Lean famine, 
quartering steel, and climbing fire. These words fur- 
nish a significant parallel to those in the Prologue 
preceding Act I of Henry V, lines 6-8: 

'and at his heels, 
Leash'd in like hounds, should famine, sword, and fire 
Crouch for employment.' 

The figures are not identical, but each bears the 
Shakespearean stamp, and both (more particularly 
that in the present play) are reminiscent of a speech 
which the chroniclers report. Henry V to have made 
to the besieged citizens of Rouen. 

IV. iii. 47. vulture of sedition. A figurative allu- 
sion to the vulture which fed in the bosom of the 
bound Prometheus. 

IV. iii. 50. scarce cold conqueror. Henry V had 
been dead thirty-one years when Talbot fell, but the 
hyperbole is dramatically effective and tends in a very 
Shakespearean way to give cohesion and the sense 
of rapid movement. 



124 The First Part of 

IV. iv. Modern editors designate this scene as 
occurring on 'Other Plains in Gascony,' but it is evi- 
dent that there is no change of place, since Lucy 
continues upon the stage. (The later Folios inserted 
an 'Exit' after the last line of scene iii, but there is 
none in the original text.) 

IV. iv. 13. Whither, my lord? Lucy impatiently 
echoes the question, which he scorns to answer. His 
concern is with the person from whom, not the one 
to whom, he is sent. 

IV. vi. 44. On that advantage. Perhaps this can 
be construed in the sense of 'for the sake of that ad- 
vantage,' i.e., personal safety. In that case the 
phrase must be understood as modifying fly in line 46. 
This, however, is strained, and it may be better to 
interpret 'Fie on that advantage' and supply an excla- 
mation point for the comma at the end of line 45. 

IV. vii. 63-71. Great Earl of Washford, etc. 
Great interest attaches to this list of Talbot's titles. 
No source for it has been discovered earlier than an 
epitaph of Talbot printed in 1599 (in Richard 
Crompton's Mansion of Magnanimitie), which runs 
thus: 'here lieth the right noble knight, Iohn Talbott, 
Earle of Shrewsbury, Washford, Waterford, and 
Valence, Lord Talbot of Goodrige, and Vrchengfield, 
Lord Strange of the blacke Meere, Lord Verdon of 
Alton, Lord Crumwell of Wingfield, Lord Louetoft 
of Worsop, Lord Furniuall of Sheffield, Lord Faulcon- 
brige, knight of the most noble order of S. George, 
S. Michaell, and the Golden fleece, Great Marshall 
to king Henry the sixt of his realme of France . . / 
It will be seen that this agrees almost verbatim with 
the text of the play, the only alterations in the latter 
being the omission of one title and the addition of 
a few words for metrical purposes. The prose of 
the epitaph is therefore treated in the very manner 
in which in the Roman plays Shakespeare treated 
much of the prose of North's Plutarch, and the whole 



King Henry the Sixth 12 5 

passage has a strong Shakespearean flavor. Are we, 
then, to infer that Shakespeare made his alteration 
of the play not earlier than 1599, at about the time 
when he was writing Henry V? See Appendix on The 
History of the Play. 

IV. vii. 89, 94. 'em. The First Folio has 'him' 
in both cases, owing probably to misreading of 'hem' 
(i.e., 'em) in the manuscript. 

V. i. 1, 2. Two events, separated by a consider- 
able time, are here combined: the intervention of the 
Emperor Sigismund and the Pope in 1435 to secure 
peace in France, and the proposal to marry Henry 
to the daughter of the Count of Armagnac in 1442. 
Both these incidents long antedated Talbot's death. 

V. iii. 1. The regent conquers. Historically, Bed- 
ford was regent of France when Joan was captured 
in 1430, but York is of course intended both here and 
in IV. vi. 2 (cf. IV. i. 162, 163). 

V. iii. 6. monarch of the north. Evil spirits were 
identified with various quarters of the compass, par- 
ticularly the east and the north. 

V. iii. 29 S. d. Burgundy and York fight. So the 
Folio editions. Modern editors make the fight take 
place between Joan and York, but without justifica- 
tion. Joan's power has now disappeared and her part 
is passive. Probably the Exit after line 29, though 
in the old texts, should be omitted, leaving Joan a 
spectator of the fight which follows. 

V. iii. 63. Twinkling another counterfeited beam. 
That is, each twinkling beam, reflected by the water, 
seems doubled. 

V. iii. 68. is she not here? This is the reading of 
the First Folio. The second, third, and fourth, appar- 
ently troubled by the fact that the line has but four 
feet, added 'thy prisoner' after here, and they have 
been followed by most modern editors, though the 
words supplied are quite otiose. 



126 The First Part of 

V. iii. 75. [Aside]. This stage direction, here 
and in the following lines, is added by modern editors. 
It will be observed that the speeches so marked are 
only partially inaudible. 

V. iii. 78, 79. A quasi-proverbial saying, found 
in Titus Andronicus (II. i. 82, 83) and elsewhere. 

V. iv. S. d. Rouen. Modern editors place this 
scene at the 'Camp of the Duke of York, in Anjou,' 
to connect it with the previous scene which they put 
'Before Angiers.' Really there are here two scenes, 
which, save for the authority of convention, ought 
to be separated. The first, dealing with the death of 
Joan in 1431, must be localized at Rouen. The second, 
beginning at line 94, dramatizes the peace negotia- 
tions which took place at Arras in 1435. With the 
meeting between Joan and her father should be con- 
trasted the different treatment of the same theme in 
Act IV, scene xi, of Schiller's play. (Schiller, for 
dramatic effect, places the father's denunciation at 
Rheims immediately after the coronation of Charles 
VII.) 

V. iv. 74. Alenconl that notorious Machiavel. The 
reference to Machiavelli (1469-1527) is an anachro- 
nism in York's mouth, but no modern figure was more 
familiarly talked of by the Elizabethans. By them 
he was regarded as the symbol of heartless ambition. 
It is very likely that in coupling Alencon with 
Machiavel the author intended a by-reference to the 
notorious Duke of Alencon who came a wooing to 
Queen Elizabeth in 1579 and aroused the violent 
antipathy of her subjects. 

V. iv. 121. poison'd. This can perhaps be in- 
terpreted to mean that the throat poisoned by choler 
chokes the voice. Many editors, however, and 
with good reason, accept Theobald's emendation, 
'prison'd.' 

V. v. 93. Among the people gather up a tenth. 
Levy a special tax of ten per cent on incomes. Suf- 



King Henry the Sixth 127 

folk's levy, however, is stated to have been a fifteenth, 
not a tenth, and in the first scene of the second part 
of the play we have the correct figure: 

'That Suffolk should demand a whole fifteenth 
For costs and charges in transporting her!' 

(2 Henry VI, I. i. 134, 135.) 



APPENDIX A 

Sources of the Play 

The historical material in 1 Henry VI is arranged 
with a total disregard to chronology, as the notes 
on various passages indicate. The earliest event por- 
trayed is the funeral of Henry V on November 7, 
1422; the latest the recovery of Talbot's body after 
his death on July 17, 1453. In some parts, the play 
is certainly based upon Shakespeare's favorite au- 
thority, the second edition of Raphael Holinshed's 
Chronicle of England (1587). Close following of 
this book is evident when the introduction of Joan 
of Arc (I. ii. 46-150) is compared with Holinshed's 
words: 'In time of this siege at Orleance . . . vnto 
Charles the Dolphin, at Chinon, as he was in verie 
great care and studie how to wrestle against the Eng- 
lish nation . . . was caried a yoong wench of an 
eighteene yeeres old, called lone Are, by name of hir 
father (a sorie sheepheard) lames of Are, and Isabell 
hir mother ; brought vp poorelie in their trade of keep- 
ing cattell ... Of fauour was she counted likesome, 
of person stronglie made and manlie, of courage 
great, hardie, and stout withall: an vnderstander of 
counsels though she were not at them; great sem- 
blance of chastitie both of bodie and behauiour. . . . 
A person (as their bookes make hir) raised vp by 
power diuine, onelie for succour to the French estate 
then deepelie in distresse. . . . From saint Katharins 
church of Fierbois in Touraine (where she neuer had 
beene and knew not) in a secret place there among 
old iron, appointed she hir sword to be sought out 
and brought hir, that with fiue floure delices was 
grauen on both sides, wherewith she fought and did 



King Henry the Sixth 129 

manie slaughters by hir owne hands. . . . Vnto the 
Dolphin into his gallerie when first she was brought, 
and he shadowing himself e behind, setting other gaie 
lords before him to trie hir cunning, from all the com- 
panie, with a salutation . . . she pickt him out alone ; 
who therevpon had hir to the end of the gallerie, 
where she held him an houre in secret and priuate 
talke, that of his priuie chamber was thought verie 
long, and therefore would haue broken it off; but he 
made them a sign to let hir saie on. In which (among 
other), as likelie it was, she set out vnto him the 
singular feats (forsooth) giuen her to vnderstand by 
reuelation diuine, that in vertue of that sword shee 
should atchiue; which were, how with honor and vic- 
torie shee would raise the siege at Orleance, set him 
in state of the crowne of France, and driue the Eng- 
lish out of the countrie, thereby he to inioie the king- 
dome alone. Heerevpon he hartened at full, ap- 
pointed hir a sufficient armie with absolute power to 
lead them, and they obedientlie to doo as she bad 
them.' 

The first edition of Holinshed (1577) and the other 
earlier English chroniclers are here briefer and quite 
different, containing no suggestion of the words out of 
which lines 60-68, 98-101, 118 ff. of the play are 
developed. 1 Holinshed, however, is by no means the 
basis of the entire play. Several scenes — those of 
Talbot and the Countess of Auvergne, the rose- 
plucking in the Temple Garden, Plantagenet's inter- 
view with Mortimer, and Suffolk's capture of Mar- 
garet — have no discovered source. The first of these 
was probably borrowed from the legend of some popu- 
lar warrior or outlaw, 2 the others are fanciful embel- 
lishments of history. 

i Holinshed is certainly the source also of IV. i. 18 ff. 
See infra, p. 144. 

2 The resemblance to Robin Hood stories, suggested by 
several critics, is of the vaguest. 



130 The First Part of 

In some cases, again, the drama deserts Holinshed 
in order to make use of the older and generally more 
detailed chronicle of Edward Halle (The Union of 
Lancaster and York, 1548). This seems to be true 
of the dialogue between Talbot and his son in IV. v 
and vi. Holinshed contents himself with a bare sum- 
mary of the battle at Castillon: 'though he [Talbot] 
first with manfull courage, and sore fighting wan the 
entrie of their [the French] campe; yet at length 
they compassed him about, and shooting him through 
the thigh with an handgun, slue his horsse, and 
finally killed him lieng on the ground, whome they 
durst neuer looke in the face, while he stood on his 
feet. 1 It was said, that after he perceiued there was 
no remedie, but present losse of the battell, he coun- 
selled his sonne, the lord Lisle, to saue himselfe by 
flight, sith the same could not redound to anie great 
reproch in him, this being the first iournie [day of 
battle] in which he had beene present. Manie words 
he vsed to persuade him to haue saued his life; but 
nature so wrought in the son, that neither desire of 
life, nor feare of death, could either cause him to 
shrinke, or conueie himselfe out of the danger, and 
so there manfullie ended his life with his said 
father.' 

Halle, on the other hand, paints the whole scene 
far more graphically, and suggests some of the actual 
words which the dramatist puts into Talbot's mouth: 
'When the Englishmen were come to the place where 
the Frenchmen were encamped, in the which (as 
Eneas Siluius testifieth) were iii. C. peces of brasse, 
beside diuers other small peces, and subtill Engynes 
to the Englishmen vnknowen, and nothing suspected, 
they lyghted al on fote, the erle of Shrewesbury only 
except, which because of his age, rode on a litle 
hakeney, and fought fiercely with the Frenchmen, & 

i These words, repeated from Halle, are echoed in I. i. 
138-140 of the play. 



King Henry the Siacth !3i 

gat thentre of their campe, and by fyne force entered 
into the same. This conflicte continued in doubtfull 
iudgement of victory ii. longe houres: durynge which 
fight the lordes of Montamban and Humadayre, with 
a great companye of Frenchmen entered the battayle, 
and began a new felde, & sodaynly the Gonners per- 
ceiuynge the Englishmen to approche nere, discharged 
their ordinaunce, and slew iii. C. persons, nere to the 
erle, who perceiuynge the imminent ieopardy, and 
subtile labirynth, in the which he and hys people 
were enclosed and illaqueate, despicynge his awne 
sauegarde, and desirynge the life of his entierly and 
welbeloued sonne the lord Lisle, willed, aduertised, 
and counsailled hym to departe out of the felde, and 
to saue hym selfe. But when the sonne had aun- 
swered that it was neither honest nor natural for 
him, to leue his father in the extreme ieopardye of 
his life, and that he woulde taste of that draught, 
which his father and Parent should assay and begyn: 
The noble erle & comfortable capitayn sayd to him: 
Oh sonne sonne, I thy father, which onely hath bene 
the terror and scourge of the French people so many 
yeres, which hath subuerted so many townes, and 
profligate and discomfited so many of them in open 
battayle, and marcial conflict, neither can here dye, 
for the honor of my countrey, without great laude 
and perpetuall fame, nor flye or departe without 
perpetuall shame and continualle infamy. But be- 
cause this is thy first iourney and enterprise, neither 
thy flyeng shall redounde to thy shame, nor thy death 
to thy glory: for as hardy a man wisely flieth, as a 
temerarious person folishely abidethe, therefore ye 
fleyng of me shalbe ye dishonor, not only of me & 
my progenie, but also a discomfiture of all my com- 
pany: thy departure shall saue thy lyfe, and make 
the able another tyme, if I be slayn to reuenge my 
death and to do honor to thy Prince and profyt to his 
Realme. But nature so wrought in the sonne, that 



132 King Henry the Sixth 

neither desire of lyfe, nor thought of securitie, could 
withdraw or pluck him from his natural father: Who 
consideryng the constancy of his chyld, and the great 
daunger that they stode in, comforted his souldiours, 
cheared his Capitayns, and valeauntly set on his 
enemies, and slew of them more in number than he 
had in his company. But his enemies hauyng a 
greater company of men, & more abundaunce of 
ordinaunce then before had bene sene in a battayle, 
fyrst shot him through the thyghe with a handgonne, 
and slew his horse, & cowardly killed him, lyenge on 
the ground, whome they neuer durste loke in the face, 
whyle he stode on his fete, and with him, there dyed 
manfully hys sonne the lord Lisle. . . .' 

Verbal echoes of the passage above are probably 
to be found in lines 18, 40, 45, 46 of IV. v and in 
line 30 of the next scene. 1 

i It is fair to observe that the verbal indebtedness to 
Halle is not as close as the indebtedness to Holinshed in the 
extract given on p. 128, and is very likely a debt at. second 
hand. That is, Halle's dialogue between father and son 
may have been utilized by the original author of the play, 
and Shakespeare, rewriting the scene without direct refer- 
ence to Halle, may have removed much of Halle's wording, 
though leaving enough to show that Shakespeare's authority, 
Holinshed, did not furnish all the material. Moreover, it 
is impossible to say whether the original dramatist used 
Halle's Chronicle itself or resorted to the later work of 
Grafton (1569), for Grafton incorporates the entire pas- 
sage verbatim. The only change he makes is to remove 
three words of Halle, which he evidently regarded as 
archaic. Instead of 'illaqueate' he reads 'wrapped'; in- 
stead of 'profligate and discomfited,' 'discomfited' alone; 
and instead of 'temerarious,' 'rashe.' 



APPENDIX B 

The History of the Play 

The drama now known as 1 Henry VI is first heard 
of as 'Harry the Sixth' on March 3, 1592. Upon 
that afternoon it was acted at the Rose Theatre by 
Lord Strange's Men (Shakespeare's company), who 
had begun their temporary occupancy of the Rose 
about a fortnight before (February 19). Philip 
Henslowe's diary notes that the play was new on 
March 3, and that the first performance brought the 
manager the unusually large sum of <£3 16s. 8d. It 
was then repeated with gradually diminishing fre- 
quency and returns: the diary records fourteen 
(possibly fifteen) productions up to June 19, 1592. 
Harry the Sixth appears to have been, as Fleay calls 
it, the most popular play of its season. Clear evi- 
dence of its effect upon the audiences at this time is 
given in Thomas Nashe's Pierce Penniless, written 
in the summer of 1592 and licensed for the press on 
August 8. Nashe uses the play to illustrate his argu- 
ment that the drama may exert a valuable moral in- 
fluence. 'How would it haue ioyed braue Talbot 
(the terror of the French),' he writes, 'to thinke that 
after he had lyne two hundred yeares in his Tombe, 
he should triumphe againe on the Stage, and haue 
his bones newe embalmed with the teares of ten thou- 
sand spectators at least (at seuerall times), who, in 
the Tragedian that represents his person, imagine 
they behold him fresh bleeding.' (McKerrow's ed. 
I. 212.) 

There is no reason for doubting that the play re- 
ferred to in both the documents of 1592 just cited is 
1 Henry VI. There seems nothing, however, to 



134 The First Part of 

justify the usual assumption that this play had al- 
ready received Shakespeare's additions, and was 
therefore in 1592 a revised version of a still earlier 
drama. Henslowe directly and Nashe by implication 
testify that their play was new. The same conclu- 
sion is warranted by the evident sensation it created 
in 1592 and particularly by the absence of the 
smallest hint of its existence previously. The only 
fair inference, then, from the facts known is that the 
play of Harry the Sixth, dealing largely with Talbot's 
wars in France, was composed about the beginning of 
the year 1592, and that this was later remodelled by 
Shakespeare into 1 Henry VI. 

It is not easy to say when the remodelling and the 
consequent revival of the play on the stage occurred. 
In the absence of positive records, critics have natu- 
rally inclined to the assumption that a work clearly 
not equal to Shakespeare's ordinary performances 
must have been produced very early in his career. 
Against this are to be weighed the following con- 
siderations: (1) The success of Henslowe's play was 
proved but not completely exploited in 1592. Accord- 
ing to the usual methods of the time a revised version 
would not be called for till after the lapse of several 
years. Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, originally pro- 
duced about 1589, still held the stage in no seriously 
altered form from September, 1594, till October, 
1597. The first extensive adaptation recorded was 
paid for, November 22, 1602. The Jew of Malta, 
acted without change from February, 1592, till June, 
1596, was revived in 1601. The old Hamlet, per- 
formed between 1589 and 1594, was rewritten by 
Shakespeare about 1601. 

(2) 1 Henry VI, as we have it, is arranged to 
serve as a prologue to 2 and 8 Henry VI. Shake- 
speare clearly revised our play with these dramas in 
his mind, and probably not till after he had com- 
pleted his revision of them. 



King Henry the Sixth 135 

(3) The earlier (pre-Shakespearean) versions of 
2 and 8 Henry VI were printed in 1594 and 1595 
respectively, these texts presumably becoming acces- 
sible to the publishers after the revised dramas sup- 
planted them for stage purposes. The fact that no 
such text of the early 1 Henry VI was printed would 
suggest that that play was reserved either till it was 
too late to warrant publishers to trade upon its 
former popularity or till Shakespeare's company 
began to take more stringent measures to prevent the 
publication of any play-texts. 

(4) A mutual connection exists between 1 Henry 
VI and Henry V (cf. note on IV. ii. 10, 11). Several 
passages in our play seem reminiscent of the other 
(written in 1599). It is a plausible hypothesis at 
least that 1 Henry VI was revised in order on the 
one hand to profit by the popular interest in Henry V 
and on the other to link that play with 2 Henry VI, 
thus completing the chain of history dramas from 
Richard II to Richard III. 1 

i It is often argued that the priority of 1 Henry VI to 
Henry V is proved by the closing lines of the epilogue to 
the latter play: 

'Henry the Sixth, in infant bands crown'd King 
Of France and England, did this king succeed; 
Whose state so many had the managing, 
That they lost France and made his England bleed: 
Which oft our stage hath shown; and, for their sake, 
In your fair minds let this acceptance take.' 

Dogmatism on the point is not justifiable, but the perform- 
ance of Harry the Sixth in 1592 (and afterward) by Shake- 
speare's company explains the allusion quite as well as the 
assumption that the revised 1 Henry VI had already been 
acted. I find it easier to read in the lines of the epilogue 
a modestly veiled hint that if Henry V proved a success, 
Shakespeare was thinking of following it up by a revised 
version of Harry the Sixth, than to believe that he really 
meant to imply that the Henry VI plays as now known 
were such excellent works as to make amends for any de- 
fects in Henry V. The epilogue to 2 Henry IV promised 



136 The First Part of 

(5) The most positive evidence of the date of the 
Shakespearean additions to 1 Henry VI is that dis- 
cussed in the note on IV. vii. 63-71. Unless some 
earlier printed source than is now known can be 
found for Talbot's epitaph, it will be hard to estab- 
lish a date prior to 1599 for the revised play. 

The idea that Shakespeare could not about 1600 
have done work as apparently immature as that which 
he contributed to 1 Henry VI, or have sanctioned the 
performance at that time of so poor a play, is not in 
consonance with facts. Shakespeare's company un- 
doubtedly produced worse plays during this period 
when the public taste seemed to warrant them (e.g., 
A Yorkshire Tragedy in 1605), and the Shakespear- 
ean parts of 1 Henry VI are assuredly not as un- 
worthy of the author of Henry V as is The Merry 
Wives of Windsor (ca. 1600) unworthy of the author 
of Twelfth Night and Much Ado About Nothing. 

On November 8, 1623, the publishers of the 
Shakespeare Folio, Blount and Jaggard, entered our 
play for publication under the rather surprising title 
of 'The thirde parte of Henry ye Sixt.' The work 
now known as 1 Henry VI is certainly meant, for 
2 and S Henry VI (in their early forms) had both 
been previously licensed, 1 and the Blount-Jaggard 
license specifically refers only to such of Shake- 
speare's plays 'as are not formerly entred to other 
men.' It is probable that in thus listing as the third 
part the drama which by historical sequence became 
in the Folio the first part, the publishers meant more 

the audience Henry V , 'if you be not too much cloyed.' 
The epilogue to Henry V reminds them how they have in 
the past applauded Henry VI. Is it not the intention to 
suggest: 'Perhaps you may have those plays again' (with 
Harry the Sixth worked over so as to fill its place in the 
series) ? 

i When Millington assigned the early versions of 2 and 3 
Henry VI to Pavier, April 19, 1602, he called them 'the first 
and second parte of Henry the VI.' 



King Henry the Sixth 137 

than simply that this was the last part remaining un- 
licensed. It seems fair to assume that they so thought 
of it because they remembered it as the latest of 
Shakespeare's Henry VI plays to be produced on the 
stage. 

Since Shakespeare's death, 1 Henry VI has had 
only the scantiest stage history. Most subsequent 
adaptations of the Henry VI cycle ignore the first 
part. However, J. H. Merivale's compilation, Rich- 
ard, Duke of York, acted by Edmund Kean, December 
22, 1817, and published the same year, opens with 
three scenes closely following II. iv, II. v, III. i, 
and IV. i of our play. 

An abridgment of the three Henry VI plays 
{'Henry VI. A Tragedy in Five Acts. Condensed 
from Shakespeare, and arranged for the Stage') was 
prepared by the eminent actor-manager, Charles 
Kemble (1775-1854), and first printed from the only 
known copy in volume ii of the Henry Irving Shake- 
speare. This work begins like Merivale's with the 
Temple Garden scene, and like it ignores the scenes 
in France. 1 Henry VI furnished Kemble with the 
material for Act I (approximately) of his adaptation, 
which seems never to have been acted. 

On March 13, 1738, 'by desire of several Ladies 
of Quality' the play of 'Henry 6th, part 1st/ was 
performed for the benefit of the actor Dennis Delane 
(died, 1750), who acted Talbot to the Suffolk of 
Walker and the Joan of Arc of Mrs. Hallam. The 
notice 'not acted fifty years,' affixed to the announce- 
ment of this performance, appears to be a most con- 
servative under-statement. The most remarkable 
recent production was that given by the F. R. Benson 
company at the Stratford Memorial Festival in May, 
1906. Mr. Benson here 'made a triumphant Talbot, 
and the audience seemed never weary of recalling 
him.' {Athenaum, May 12, 1906.) 



APPENDIX C 

The Authorship of the Play 
I. Shakespeare's Cohcern in It 

With regard to the connection of Shakespeare with 
1 Henry VI four different opinions have been put 
forward : 

(1) Shakespeare had no part in the play. This 
was apparently the view of Richard Farmer, who 
says {Essay on the Learning of Shakespeare, 1767): 
'Henry the sixth hath ever been doubted; and 
[Nashe's allusion in Pierce Penniless] may give us 
reason to believe it was previous to our Author. . . . 
I have no doubt but Henry the sixth had the same 
Author with Edward the third.' Malone 1 and Drake 2 
took the negative position strongly, and Collier flirted 
with it, 3 while more recently Dowden (ShaJcspere: 
His Mind and Art, 173; ShaJcspere Primer, etc.) and 
Furnivall (Introduction to Leopold ShaJcspere) have 
virtually denied any real trace of Shakespeare in the 
work. 

(2) Shakespeare wrote the entire play. Samuel 
Johnson favored this hypothesis, arguing that 'from 
mere inferiority nothing can be inferred; in the pro- 
ductions of wit there will be inequality.' He was 
supported by his colleague Steevens, who remarks: 

i Boswell-Malone Shakespeare, 1823, v. 246: 'I am there- 
fore decisively of opinion that this play was not written 
by Shakspeare'; ibid., xviii. 557: Part I is 'the entire or 
nearly the entire production of some ancient dramatist.' 

2 Shakspeare and his Times, 1817, ii. 293: 'The hand of 
Shakspeare is nowhere visible throughout the entire of this 
"Drum-and-Trurnpet-Thing," as Mr. Morgan [Maurice Mor- 
gann] has justly termed it.' 

s Annals of the Stage, 1831, iii. 145: 'It is plausibly con- 
jectured that Shakespeare never touched the First Part of 
Henry VI as it stands in his works.' 



King Henry the Sixth 



'This historical play might have been one of our 
author's earliest dramatick efforts; and almost every 
young poet begins his career by imitation. Shaks- 
peare therefore, till he felt his own strength, perhaps 
servilely conformed to the style and manner of his 
predecessors.' 1 Charles Knight in the Pictorial 
Shakspeare (1867) asserted with much greater posi- 
tiveness that all the three parts of Henry VI 'are, in 
the strictest sense of the word, Shakspeare's own 
plays,' and was followed by the American critics, 
Verplanck (1847) and Hudson. 2 Such has been the 
view almost unanimously of the Germans: Schlegel, 
Bodenstedt, Delius, Ulrici, Sarrazin, Brandl, Creize- 
nach (Gervinus is the honorable exception). The 
only recent British scholar to espouse this cause is, 
I believe, Courthope, 3 who in a remarkable Appendix 
'On the Authenticity of Some of the Early Plays 
Assigned to Shakespeare and their Relationship to 
the Development of his Dramatic Genius' {History 

i Capell also should apparently be included among the 
believers in Shakespeare's exclusive authorship. In his 
introduction he anticipates and very quaintly develops the 
idea of Steevens's second sentence: 'We are quite in the 
dark as to when the first part was written; but should be 
apt to conjecture, that it was some considerable time after 
the other two; and perhaps when those two were re- 
touched. . . . And those two parts, even with all their re- 
touchings, being still much inferior to the other plays of 
that class, he may reasonably [sic] be supposed to have 
underwrit himself on purpose in the first, that it might the 
better match with those it belong'd to.' 

2 'I can but give it as my firm and settled judgment 
that the main body of the play is certainly Shakespeare's; 
nor do I perceive any clear and decisive reason for calling 
in another hand to account for any part of it.' 

3 Note, however, the historian Gairdner's passing remark 
(Studies in English History, 1881, 65): 'I dismiss altogether 
the hypothesis which some have advanced, that the First 
Part of Henry VI was not really Shakespeare's. So far as 
internal evidence goes, if in ability it be not equal to 
Shakespeare's best, it is too great for any other writer.' 



140 The First Part of 

of English Poetry, vol. iv, 1903) goes even farther 
than Knight. 

(3) Shakespeare collaborated with other drama- 
tists to produce the play. Grant White (Essay on 
the Authorship of King Henry the Sixth, 1859) sup- 
poses that 'It is not improbable that Marlowe, Greene, 
Peele, and Shakespeare were all engaged upon it/ 
and suggests 'that within two or three years of Shake- 
speare's arrival in London, that is, about 1587 or 
1588, he was engaged to assist Marlowe, Greene, and 
perhaps Peele, in dramatizing the events of King 
Henry the Sixth's reign.' Ingram (Marlowe and his 
Associates, 1904) writes that 1 Henry VI 'furnishes 
but slight evidence of containing much of the handi- 
work of the two men, Marlowe and Shakespeare, who 
are now believed [sic] to have jointly remodelled it'; 
and Hart (Arden Shakespeare, 1909) reasons: 'We 
are at liberty to place Part I, in so far as it is Shake- 
speare's, as his earliest work with a date of about 
1589-90. ... I see no reason, therefore, to look for 
an imaginary earlier completed play. . . . We can 
imagine very easily that Shakespeare was invited to 
lend a hand to Greene and Peele.' 

(4) Shakespeare, working by himself, revised an 
earlier play of different authorship. Theobald seems 
first to have formulated this theory: 'Though there 
are several master-strokes in these three plays [of 
Henry VI], which incontestably betray the workman- 
ship of Shakspeare; yet I am almost doubtful 
whether they were entirely of his writing. And un- 
less they were wrote by him very early, I should 
rather imagine them to have been brought to him as 
a director of the stage; and so have received some 
finishing beauties at his hand.' 1 Such is the opinion 
of Coleridge, Gervinus, Staunton, Halliwell-Phillipps, 

i This is the sense also of Maurice Morgann's wild obiter 
dictum on the play, referred to in the quotation from Drake 
above. He alludes to Sir John Fastolfe, 'a name for ever 



King Henry the Sixth i*i 

and Dyce, the last of whom definitely repudiates the 
Grant White theory: 'not written by Shakespeare in 
conj unction with any other author or authors, but . . . 
a comparatively old drama, which he slightly altered 
and improved.' Fleay gives precise, but highly 
dubious, details {Life and Work of Shakspere, 1886) : 
'About 1588-9 Marlowe plotted, and, in conjunction 
with Kyd (or Greene), Peele, and Lodge, wrote 1 
Henry VI for the Queen's men. . . . In 1591-2 the 
Queen's men were in distress and sold, among other 
plays, 1 Henry VI to Lord Strange's men, who pro- 
duced it in 1592 with Shakspere's Talbot additions 
as a new play.' Rives (1874) argues that Shake- 
speare revised and expanded an old play dealing 
exclusively with the wars in France, and Henneman 
(1901) comes to much the same conclusion. Gray 
(1917) allows Shakespeare's revisionary labor a 
somewhat less wide, but still very extensive scope. 
Herford (Eversley Shakespeare), Rolfe, and Sir 
Sidney Lee limit the signs of his hand to a couple of 
scenes; while Ward, Gollancz and Schelling stress 
their belief that Shakespeare was not properly a 
reviser, but a 'contributor' of 'additions' to the 
original work. 

This last theory, with its differing implications, 
has vastly the largest number of upholders at the 
present time, and is indeed the only one that can be 
brought into reasonable harmony with the evidence. 
In regard to the particular scenes to be ascribed to 
Shakespeare there has been no radical variation 
among good critics. Nearly all credit Shakespeare 

dishonoured by a frequent exposure in that Drum-and- 
trumpet Thing called The first part of Henry VI., written 
doubtless, or rather exhibited, long before Shakespeare was 
born, tho' afterwards repaired, I think, and furbished up by 
him with here and there a little sentiment and diction.* 
(Essay on the Dramatic Character of Sir John Falstaff, 
1777.) 



142 The First Part of 

with II. iv (the Temple Garden dispute) ; a large 
majority also with II. v (the death of Mortimer), 
which naturally links itself with the foregoing, and 
with the whole or most of IV. ii-vii (Talbot's death). 
With less assurance V. iii. 45-195 (Suffolk's wooing 
of Margaret) is added. In all these there are strong 
indications of Shakespeare. Note the plays on words : 
'I love no colours, and without all colour' (II. iv. 34) ; 
'And in that ease, I'll tell thee my disease' (II. v. 44) ; 
'And they shall find dear deer of us' (IV. ii. 54), 
together with the technical deer-hunting allusions in 
the last passage and the hawk, dog, horse references 
in II. iv. 11-14. 

Compare also the bold use of transferred adjectives, 
quite Shakespearean and quite unlike the general style 
of the play as a whole: 'In dumb significants' (II. 
iv. 26), 'this pale and maiden blossom' (II. iv. 47), 
'this pale and angry rose' (II. iv. 107), 'my blood- 
drinking hate' (II. iv. 108), 'death and deadly night' 
(II. iv. 127), 'feet whose strengthless stay is numb' 
(II. v. 13), 'sweet enlargement' (II. v. 30), 'the 
dusky torch of Mortimer' (II. v. 122), 'your stately 
and air-braving towers' (IV. ii. 13), 'the process of 
his sandy hour' (IV. ii. 36), 'sleeping neglection' 
(IV. iii. 49), 'That ever living man of memory' (IV. 
iii. 51), 'bring thy father to his drooping chair' (IV. 
v. 5), 'bold-fac'd victory' (IV. vi. 12). 

Especially Shakespearean are the fanciful meta- 
phors and similes which abound in these scenes: 
'Were growing time once ripen'd to my will' (II. iv. 
99) ; 'I'll note you in my book of memory' (II. iv. 
101); 'these gray locks, the pursuivants of Death' 
(II. v. 5) ; 'These eyes, like lamps whose wasting 
oil is spent' (II. v. 8) ; 'pithless arms, like to a 
wither'd vine That droops his sapless branches to the 
ground' (II. v. 11, 12); 'Just death, kind umpire of 
men's miseries' (II. v. 29) ; 'But now thy uncle is 
removing hence, As princes do their courts, when 



King Henry the Sixth 143 

they are cloy'd With long continuance in a settled 
place' (II. v. 104-106); 'To wall thee from the lib- 
erty of flight' (IV. ii. 24) ; 'girdled with a waist of 
iron' (IV. iii. 20) ; 'ring'd about with bold adversity' 
(IV. iv. 14) ; 'Now thou art seal'd the son of chivalry' 
(IV. vi. 29) ; 'To save a paltry life and slay bright 
fame' (IV. vi. 45) ; 'Triumphant death, smear'd with 
captivity' (IV. vii. 3) ; 'inhearsed in the arms Of the 
most bloody nurser of his harms' (IV. vii. 46) ; 
'Twinkling another counterfeited beam' (V. iii. 63). 

Consideration of the passages just cited, which are 
fairly representative, though of course not complete, 
will, I think, suggest a gradual decrease through the 
scenes concerned in the recognizable Shakespearean 
quality. The Temple Garden and Mortimer scenes 
are rather more positively like Shakespeare than the 
blank verse Talbot passages, and decidedly more so 
than the rimed Talbot passages (IV. iii. 28-46, IV. v. 
16-vii. 50) or the Suffolk-Margaret scene. This is 
reasonable, since the first two scenes bear most ap- 
pearance of being spontaneous with the reviser of the 
play, and since Shakespeare's language is regularly 
bolder in blank verse than in rime. 

It would be hazardous to attempt to infer from the 
style alone the date at which Shakespeare wrote his 
scenes. 1 The diction does not seem to me that of the 
poet's earliest period; and Furnivall has observed 
that the proportion of extra-syllabled lines in the 
Temple Garden scene (about 26 per cent) 'forbids us 
supposing it is very early work.' It would also be 
ill-advised to set precise limits for Shakespeare's part 
in the play. His hand is most evident in the scenes 
just discussed, but Talbot's death must, I think, have 
been a conspicuous feature of the original pre- 
Shakespearean play, and it is unlikely that the re- 
viser here removed all traces of his predecessor. On 

i See the Appendix on The History of the Play, p. 134. 



144 The First Part of 

the other hand, it is entirely reasonable to suspect 
Shakespearean penciling in scenes where the hand- 
ling is too light or too perfunctory to leave any defi- 
nite impression of genius. In particular, Mr. Gray 
finds evidence of the greater writer in the opening 
of III. i and in the Vernon-Basset quarrel (III. iv. 
28 ff. and IV. i. 78 ff.). I am impressed by Henne- 
man's suggestion that IV. i as a whole is the reviser's 
replica of III. iv (cf. note on IV. i) : there seems to 
be nothing in the later scene which Shakespeare 
might not have written, and a positive clue may per- 
haps be found in the fact that Talbot's account of 
the Battle of Patay is here certainly taken from 
Holinshed rather than Halle. 1 Another hint of the 
same kind appears in I. ii in the adoption from Hol- 
inshed's second edition of the favorable view of Joan 
of Arc (which Holinshed explains that he derives 
from French sources), whereas the remainder of the 
play gives an inharmonious conception drawn from 
the earlier English chronicles. 2 

The reviser's hand, presumably Shakespeare's, is 
evident in the way the close of 1 Henry VI is shaped 
to fit it as an introduction to Part II of the trilogy. 
Henneman states the relationship of the three parts 
with accuracy, if with undue caution: 'So specifically 
does I prepare for II and III in certain particulars 
that it is conceivable that I was written after II and 
that III had already been planned.' If he means in 

i Holinshed reports that Talbot had 'not past six thou- 
sand men' (cf. IV. i. 20 and also I. i. 112), while Halle gives 
him five thousand. 

2 Two small points, which I have not seen mentioned, 
may have some bearing on the date of Shakespeare's re- 
vision: (1) The Mortimer scene, especially lines 67-81, 
sounds rather like a reminiscence of 1 Henry IV. 
(2) Margaret's vain efforts to make Suffolk attend to her 
questions and the retribution she takes (V. iii. 72-109) re- 
peat Falstaff's tactics with the Chief Justice {2 Henry IV, 
II. i. 184-211). It is possible, but hardly so likely, that the 
sequence was the other way. 



King Henry the Sixth 145 

the case of Part I, not the original composition, but 
the reviser's adaptation, it is certain, I think, that I 
follows II. Note that the thirty-ninth line of the 
play, where Winchester says to Gloucester, 'Thy wife 
is proud; she holdeth thee in awe,' can only be ra- 
tionally explained as a preparation for Part II. The 
gibe means nothing as regards Part I. Again, the 
conclusion of Part I can only have been worked into 
an open advertisement for Part II, 

'Margaret shall now be queen, and rule the king; 

But I will rule both her, the king, and realm,' 

after Parts II and III had passed into the posses- 
sion of Shakespeare's company, and been adapted for 
representation by them. The 1592 Harry the Sixth 
cannot well be imagined to have ended so, for Pem- 
broke's company appear at this time to have owned 
the early versions of Parts II and III. 1 It is not 
reasonable that Strange's company should have em- 
ployed a conclusion quite out of keeping with their 
main theme of Talbot's glory and explicable only as 
preparing the audience for the play of a rival 
company. 

That the original ending of the play was greatly 
changed by the reviser appears from textual evidence, 
which Fleay with characteristic subtlety noted, and, 
I think, characteristically misinterpreted. The mark- 
ing of acts and scenes in the only early edition — that 
of the Folio — is entirely regular as far as the close 
of Act III (save that the individual scenes of Acts I 
and II are not divided off) ; and it is extraordinarily 
chaotic in Acts IV and V. Practically the whole 
close of the play (from IV. i through V. iv) is given 

i Pembroke's Men are supposed to have sold these plays 
and others at the time of their distress in September, 1593 — 
a year and a half after Strange's (Shakespeare's) Men 
produced Harry the Sixth. Cf. Greg, Henslowe's Diary, 
ii. 85; Murray, English Dram. Companies, i. 65. (I do not 
agree with Murray's suggestion of a possible connection 
between Shakespeare and the Pembroke company.) 



146 The First Part of 

as Act IV, Act V consisting only of the short last 
scene (V. v), and being marked at all probably 
merely in order to secure the conventional total of 
five acts. The six scenes dealing with Talbot's death 
(IV. ii-vii) are undivided and carelessly tacked on 
to IV. i, with which they have only a remote organic 
connection. From this Fleay argues that the Talbot 
scenes are a patch of new material, not corresponding 
to anything in the old play: 'It is plain that they 
were written subsequently to the rest of the play and 
inserted at a revival. They had to be inserted in 
such a manner as not to break the connection between 
this play and 2 Henry VI; and were put in the most 
convenient place, regardless of historic sequence.' I 
think the reverse is true: that it was the necessity of 
creating a spurious connection with 2 Henry VI which 
produced the disorder. Originally the Talbot scenes 
probably came nearer the end of the play and stood 
in closer relationship to their natural complement, 
the retributive overthrow of Joan (V. ii, iii. 1-44, iv. 
1-93) and the final submission of the Dauphin (V. iv. 
116-175). On this unhistorical, but very dramatic 
note of national vindication the old play may be sup- 
posed to have concluded. To change this note to that 
of pessimism and foreboding with which Part II 
opens was the reviser's problem. 1 It required a com- 
plete volte-face, which has been executed with dex- 
terity but probably at a cost to the effectiveness of 
this play (considered individually and not as the 
introduction to a great tetralogy) for which Shake- 
speare's improvement of the poetry in the Talbot 
scenes does not compensate. The patchwork is most 
painfully evident where the otherwise admirable 
Suffolk-Margaret-Reignier scene (V. iii. 45-195) is 
pasted in between two sections of the Joan story. 

i The clearest indication of an effort to prepare the 
audience for this new gloom in the close appears in the 
croaking speeches of Exeter, affixed to III. i and IV. i. 



King Henry the Sixth 147 

The last scene in the play, constituting the entire 
Actus Quintus of the Folio, clearly belongs altogether 
to the later recension. The writing of so purely 
utilitarian a scene was small game for Shakespeare, 
but the execution is by no means un-Shakespearean. 1 
Henneman's summary of Shakespeare's probable 
purpose in 1 Henry VI is, I think, fair and conserva- 
tive: 'To work up or rewrite the Talbot portions of 
the Chronicles, probably, though not necessarily, 
already crystallized into an old play on the triumph 
of "brave Talbot" over the French, which possessed 
the hated Joan of Arc scenes and all; to intensify the 
figure and character of Talbot; to work over or add 
scenes like those touching Talbot's death; to connect 
him with the deplorable struggles of the nobles ; to 
invent, by a happy poetical thought, the origin of the 
factions of the Red and White Roses in the Temple 
Garden; to sound at once the note of weakness in the 
king continued in the succeeding Parts, and thus con- 
vert the old Talbot material effectually into a Henry 
VI drama; and to close with the wooing of Margaret 
as specific introduction to Part II, — something like 
this seems the task that the dramatist set himself to 
perform.' 

II. The Author of the Original Play 
1. Marlowe ? 

Henslowe's play of Harry the Sixth, if it followed 
somewhat the lines just suggested, undoubtedly de- 
served the popularity it attained. It was probably 
more effective on the stage than the expanded work 
which supplanted it, and in 1591-92 can have been 

i Gervinus pointed out (Shakespeare, 2d ed., 1850, i. 202) 
that if the Suffolk-Margaret scene and the last scene were 
omitted, and the play left to close with 'Winchester's peace' 
(V. iv), it would have a conclusion much better suited to 
the chief content. 



148 The First Part of 

written only by a real poet and a skilled dramatist. 
There were not many such at this period. Marlowe 
was one, but I concur warmly in Mr. Gray's opinion 
that 'Marlowe himself cannot be read into this 
drama.' Marlowe's influence, however, is unquestion- 
ably apparent in the older parts of the play. Note, 
for example, the following echoes: 1 

Li. 2: 

'Comets, importing change of times and states' 
Marlowe's Lucan 527: 

'And comets that presage the fall of kingdoms.' 

I.i.3: 

'Brandish your crystal tresses in the sky.' 
Tamburlaine 1922: 

'Shaking her silver tresses in the air.' 

Li. 22: 

'Like captives bound to a triumphant car.' 
Edward II 174: 

'With captive kings at his triumphant car.' 

Li. 36: 

'Whom like a school-boy you may over-awe.' 

Edward II 1336 f.: 

'As though your highness were a school-boy still, 
And must be awed and governed like a child.' 

Li. 46: 

'Instead of gold we'll offer up our arms.' 
Jew of Malta 758 f.: 

'Instead of gold, 

We'll send thee bullets wrapped in smoke and fire.' 

I.i.149: 

'I'll hale the Dauphin headlong from his throne.' 
Tamburlaine 4021: 

'Haling him headlong to the lowest hell.' 

I. vi. 11,12: 

'Why ring not out the bells throughout the town? 

Dauphin, command the citizens make bonfires.' 
Tamburlaine 1335 f . : 

'Ringing with joy their superstitious bells, 

And making bonfires for my overthrow.' 

i The line numbers for Marlowe's works are those of the 
Oxford edition. 



King Henry the Sixth 149 

III. ii. 40: 

'That hardly we escap'd the pride of France.' 
Tamburlaine 140: 

'Lest you subdue the pride of Christendom.' 
Tamburlaine 3568: 

'To overdare the pride of Graecia.' 
Dido 482: 

'That after burnt the pride of Asia.' 

III. ii. 136: 

'But kings and mightiest potentates must die.' 
Tamburlaine 4641: 

'For Tamburlaine, the scourge of God, must die.' 

III. lit. IS: 

'And we will make thee famous through the world.' 
Tamburlaine 2173: 
'And makes my deeds infamous through the world.' 

III.iii.24: 

'But be extirped from our provinces.' 
Faustus 122: 

'And reign sole king of all our provinces.' 

IV.vii.32: 

'Now my old arms are young John Talbot's grave.' 
Jew of Malta 1192: 

'These arms of mine shall be thy sepulchre.' 

V.iv.34: 

'Take her away; for she hath liv'd too long.' 
Edward II 2651: 

'Nay, to my death, for too long have I lived.' 

V.iv.87,88: 

'May never glorious sun reflex his beams 
Upon the country where you make abode.' 

Tamburlaine 969 f.: 
'For neither rain can fall upon the earth, 
Nor sun reflex his virtuous beams thereon.' 

Marlowe's general influence is also traceable, as in 
I. vi, where the barbaric magnificence of the Dauphin's 
promises to Joan plagiarizes those of Tamburlaine to 
Zenocrate (Tamb. 278 ff.), and his promise that Joan's 
coffin shall be carried before the kings and queens of 
France recalls the second part of Marlowe's play 
(II. iii, III. ii). The concluding couplet of this same 



150 The First Part of 

scene echoes the close of 1 Tamburlaine, Act III ; and 
the burial of Zenocrate is again clearly parodied in 
the burial of Salisbury (II. ii). 1 

All this means mimicry, conscious or unconscious. 
Frequently the imitation degenerates into travesty, 
as in the weak mouthing of Bedford (I. i. 148-156) 
and the atrocious rot of the whole scene in which 
Salisbury is stricken (I. iv). Imagine Marlowe 
making his chief hero say at the height of passion: 

'What chance is this, that suddenly hath cross'd us? 
Speak, Salisbury; at least, if thou canst speak,' etc. 

It is easier to conceive the mighty line to have at- 
tained the unsurpassable flatness of the messenger's 
words in II. iii. 29, 30: 

'Stay, my Lord Talbot; for my Lady craves 
To know the cause of your abrupt departure.' 

The real proof that Marlowe did not write Harry 
the Sixth is the absence of any passion except in 
scenes which bear marks of revision. The lines are 
usually musical and sometimes charming, and the 
stage action is interesting, but they are not irradiated 
by the electric intensity that scintillates in Marlowe. 
Till Shakespeare vivifies him in the fourth act, Talbot 
himself is but a skeleton in armor. 

2. Greene ? 

Greene has been very often suggested as the author 
of this play, most recently by Gray, though with 
reservations, and most positively by Hart. I see 
nothing that renders such an attribution reasonable: 
Hart's verbal parallels seem quite without demon- 
strative value. Greene's essays in the chronicle his- 

i Several of these similarities have been noted by Anders, 
Shakespeare's Books, p. 121. Sarrazin had previously men- 
tioned the resemblance of Joan's appeal to Burgundy (III. 
iii) and Tamburlaine's appeal to Theridamas (305 ff.). 



King Henry the Sixth 151 

tory drama are notably characteristic, and evidence 
a method entirely unlike that of this play. He no- 
where exhibits any tendency toward patriotic themes 
or any interest in the facts of history. Rather in his 
quasi-historic plays, Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay 
and James IV (and in George-a-Greene if it be his), 
he yields to an apparently irresistible devotion for 
pastoral woodland settings, romantic love stories, 
quaint supernaturalism, and clownish roguery. Un- 
less one can fancy Joan's brief address to her fiends 
(V. iii. 1-24) to be akin in atmosphere or purpose to 
the magic humbuggery of Bacon and the fairy ma- 
chinery of Oberon, 1 Henry VI is wholly unlike 
Greene in all these points. It is unlike him both in 
the inflexibility with which it harps on the historical 
note, and in its absence of humor, sentiment, or 
pathos. Greene, of course, may have written the 
play, but it is less like his avowed work than that 
of any contemporary dramatist. 

3. Peele ? 

It is not by a process of elimination merely that I 
arrive at George Peele as the most likely author of 
the old Harry the Sixth play. Indications of several 
kinds point in Peele's direction. He was at the time 
the work was produced distinctly the most con- 
spicuous exponent of jingoistic national pride — a 
trait of which Marlowe shows absolutely nothing and 
Greene hardly more. Peele had composed the pa- 
triotic masques to celebrate the Lord Mayoralty of 
Sir Wolstan Dixie in 1585 and of Sir William Web 
in 1591. His Polyhymnia (1590) lauded in martial 
strains 'the honourable Triumph at Tilt' when Sir 
Henry Lea formally resigned his post of Queen's 
Champion, and he again touched the same theme in 
Anglorum Feriae (1595), written in honor of the 
thirty-seventh anniversary of Elizabeth's accession. 



152 The First Part of 

In 1589 he had twice come forth as the spokesman 
of the nation: in his Eclogue Gratulatory to the Earl 
of Essex 'for his welcome into England from Portu- 
gal/ and in his fine Farewell, 'Entituled to the famous 
and fortunate Generals of our English forces: Sir 
John Norris and Sir Francis Drake.' Later, again, 
in 1593, he linked the knighthood of his age with 
that of the past in The Honour of the Garter?- His 
plays of the same period, Edward I and The Battle 
of Alcazar, are equally filled with the praise of Eng- 
lish daring. No known author of 1591 has anything 
like the same claim on merely extrinsic evidence to 
be regarded as the author of a play in celebration 
of the martial exploits of the brave Lord Talbot. 2 

General similarities between Peele's Edward I and 
1 Henry VI have been often noted, particularly the 
unhappy resemblance in the defamation of the Span- 
ish Eleanor and the French Joan of Arc. One of 
the most insular of Britons, Peele was incapable of 
glorifying his countrymen without slandering the 
races they opposed. The undramatic line put into 
Joan's mouth (III. iii. 85), 

'Done like a Frenchman: turn, and turn again!' 

is fairly characteristic of his bigotry. 

The verse of the older portions of the play — 
saccharine rather than strong, and the loose but 
animated structure are what one finds in Peele's 
recognized dramas. The imitation of Marlowe is 

iThis poem should be compared with Talbot's speech, 
'When first this order was ordained,' etc. (IV. i. 33 ff.). 

2 Peele's favorite epigram, which he affixes at least 
three times to his poems, might well serve as motto for 
1 Henry VI: 

'Gallia victa dedit flores, invicta leones 

Anglia, jus belli in flore, leone suum; 
O sic, O semper ferat Anglia laeta (or 'Elizabetha') 
triumphos, 

Inclyta Gallorum flore, leone suo.' 



King Henry the Sixth iss 

equally a feature of those which were produced after 
Tamburlaine. 1 

The Countess of Auvergne episode, with its grace 
and lack of human warmth, seems to me like Peele's 
work. In its relation to the military plot, and par- 
ticularly in the military tableau with which it closes, 
it is very suggestive of the more elaborated Countess 

i Edward I 954: 

'It is but temporal that you can inflict.' 
Edward II 1550: 

'Tis but temporal that thou canst inflict.' 

Edward I 1165 f.: 

'This comfort, madam, that your grace doth give 
Binds me in double duty whilst I live.' 

Edward II 1684 f.: 

'These comforts that you give our woeful queen 
Bind us in kindness all at your command.' 

Edward I 2800: 

'Hence, feigned weeds, unfeigned is my grief.' 
Edward II 1964: 

'Hence, feigned weeds, unfeigned are my woes.' 

David <§• Bethsabe 12-14: 

'The host of heaven . . . cast 

Their crystal armor at his conquering feet.' 
Tamburlaine 1932: 

'There angels in their crystal armors fight.' 

David (f- Bethsabe 181: 

'And makes their weapons wound the senseless winds.' 
Tamburlaine 1256: 

'And make our strokes to wound the senseless air* 
('lure' in first edition). 

Battle of Alcazar 190: 

'The bells of Pluto ring revenge amain.' 
Edward II 1956: 

'Let Pluto's bells ring out my fatal knell.' 

Battle of Alcazar 250: 

'Tamburlaine, triumph not, for thou must die.' 
Tamburlaine 4641: 

'For Tamburlaine, the Scourge of God, must die.' 

(The line numbers for Peele's plays are those of the 
Malone Society editions.) 



154 The First Part of 

of Salisbury episode in the anonymous Edward III. 
I give my adhesion to the conjecture of Farmer, al- 
ready quoted, that 'Henry the sixth [in its earliest 
form] had the same Author with Edward the third/ 
and believe that author to have been Peele. 1 



APPENDIX D 

The Text of the Present Edition 

The text of the present volume is, by permission 
of the Oxford University Press, that of the Oxford 
Shakespeare, edited by the late W. J. Craig, except 
for the following deviations : 

1. The stage directions are those of the original 
Folio edition, necessary additional words being in- 
serted in square brackets. 

2. The punctuation has been altered in many 
places, and the spelling normalized in the following 
instances: French place names in general (e.g., 
Champagne, Gisors, Poitiers, Bordeaux instead of 
Champaigne, Guysors, Poictiers, Bourdeaux) ; antic 
(antick), everywhere (every where), forfend (fore- 
fend), forgo (forego), immortaliz'd (immortalis'd), 
warlike (war-like). 

3. The following alterations of the text have been 
made after collation with the Folio, readings of the 
present edition preceding and those of Craig follow- 
ing the colon. Except in the one case otherwise 
marked the changes all represent a return to the 
Folio text: 

I. ii. 41 gimmors: gimmals 

I.iv.28 CaU'd: Called 

95 thee: thee, Nero 

I. v. 16 hungry-starved: hunger-starved 

i Cf. The Shakespeare Apocrypha, p. xxiii. 



King Henry the Sixth 155 



I. vi.22 of: or (F) 
II. ii. 54 'tis: it is 

II. iv. 6 th' error: the error 

II. v. 71 Richard: King Richard 

III. i. 25, 114 sovereign: sov'reign 

198 lose: should lose 

III. ii. 28 Talbonites: Talbotites 

III. iii. 76 wandering: wand'ring 

IV. i. 138 wavering: wav'ring 

IV. ii. 6 sovereign: sov'reign 
IV. iii. 28 makes : make 

IV. vii. 25 whether : whe'r 

65 Verdon: Verdun 

V. iii. 68 here: here thy prisoner 

153 country: county 

V. v. 39 lord: good lord 

46 liberal: a liberal 



APPENDIX E 

Suggestions for Collateral Reading 

George Lockhart Rives: An Essay on the First, 
Second, and Third Parts of Henry the Sixth; Com- 
monly attributed to Shakespeare. 1874. (Harness 
Prize Essay. Largely based on Grant White's earlier 
monograph on the same subject.) 

F. G. Fleay: Who Wrote 'Henry VI'? Macmillan's 
Magazine, November, 1875. 

Life and Work of Shakspere, 1886, 255-263. 

W. H. Egerton: Talbot's Tomb in the Parish 
Church of St. Alkmund's, Whitchurch. In Trans- 
actions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Natural 
History Society, viii. 413-440, 1885. (An interesting 
article dealing with the exhumation of Talbot's bones 
and the evidence derived from them concerning the 
manner of his death.) 

W. G. Boswell-Stone: Shakspere's Holinshed, ix. 
205-242, 1896. 



156 King Henry the Sixth 

J. B. Henneman: The Episodes in Shakespeare's 
I. Henry VI. In Publications of the Modern Lan- 
guage Association of America, xv. 290-320, 1900. 
(An admirable article.) 

Sir A. T. Quiller-Couch : Historical Tales from 
Shakespeare, 257-276, 1912. 

H. D. Gray: The Purport of Shakespeare's Con- 
tribution to 1 Henry VI. In Publications of the Mod- 
ern Language Association of America, xxxii. 367-382, 
1917. 

The most elaborate edition of the play is that of 
H. C. Hart (Arden Shakespeare, Methuen, 1909. 
Considerable philological erudition is here vitiated by 
unsound judgment). Other helpful editions are 
W. J. Rolfe's (1882); Frank A. Marshall's in vol. i 
of the Henry Irving Shakespeare (1888), containing 
important introduction and notes ; and that in the 
New Grant White Shakespeare, vol. vi (Little, 
Brown & Co., 1912). 

Students of the play will find it interesting to 
compare the treatment of Joan of Arc and Talbot 
with the presentation of the same figures in Voltaire's 
travesty, La Pucelle d'Orleans (first authorized edi- 
tion, 1762), and in Schiller's ultra-romantic Jungfrau 
von Orleans (1801). 

Much important information regarding Sir John 
Fastolfe and a number of letters written by him will 
be found in the first volume of Gairdner's edition of 
the Paston Letters (1872). See also Gairdner, The 
Historical Element in Shakespeare's Falstaff in 
Studies in English History, 55-77, 1881; and L. W. 
Vernon Harcourt, The Two Sir John Fastolfs in 
Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 1910, 
47-62. The latter attempts, on interesting but not 
very convincing evidence, to identify Falstaff with a 
somewhat older and obscurer namesake of the 
Fastolfe of 1 Henry VI. 



INDEX OF WORDS GLOSSED 

(Figures in full-faced type refer to page-numbers) 



accidents: 87 (V. iii. 4) 
accomplices: 87 (V. ii. 9) 
Adonis' gardens: 24 (I. vi. 

6) 
advance: 24 (I. vi. 1) 
advantage: 75 (IV. iv. 19); 

79 (IV. vi. 44) 
affect: 84 (V. i. 7) 
agaz'd on: 6 (I. i. 126) 
all amort: 57 (III. ii. 124) 
alarum: 8 (I. ii. 18) 
alliance sake: 41 (II. v. 53) 
allotted: 89 (V. iii. 55) 
amaze: 83 (IV. vii. 84) 
an if: 49 (III. i. 152) 
antic: 81 (IV. vii. 18) 
appall'd: 10 (I. ii. 48) 
apparent spoil: 71 (IV. ii. 

26) 
apprehension: 38 (II. iv. 

102) 
as: 85 (V. i. 43) 
Astraea's daughter: 24 (I. 

vi. 4) 
attached: 38 (II. iv. 96) 
attainted: 38 (II. iv. 96) 
attorneyship, by: 103 (V. v. 

56) 

band: 25 (II. i. S. d.) 
bandying: 69 (IV. i. 190) 
battle: 81 (IV. vii. 13) 
bearing-cloth: 16 (I. iii. 42) 
bears him on: 37 (II. iv. 86) 
become: 81 (IV. vii. 23) 
benefit, of: 100 (V. iv. 152) 
blood: 43 (II. v. 128) 
blood, in: 71 (IV. ii. 48) 
brave (vb.): 81 (IV. vii. 25) 



braves (n.) : 57 (III. ii. 123) 
break: 17 (I. iii. 82) 
break up: 14 (I. iii. 13) 
buckle: 11 (I. ii. 95) 

canker: 36 (II. iv. 68) 
canvass: 15 (I. iii. 36) 
captivate: 32 (II. iii. 42) 
cates: 34 (II. iii. 79) 
censure: 31 (II. iii. 10) 
certify: 32 (II. iii. 32); 68 

(IV. i. 144) 
charge: 104 (V. v. 92) 
cheer appall'd: 10 (I. ii. 48) 
chosen shot: 20 (I. iv. 53) 
Circe, with: 89 (V. iii. 35) 
clubs: 17 (I. iii. 85) 
coffer of Darius: 25 (I. vi. 

25) 
collop: 96 (V. iv. 18) 
colours: 35 (II. iv. 34) 
company, from: 104 (V. v. 

100) 
comparison: 100 (V. iv. 

150) 
conceit: 102 (V. v. 15) 
contriv'dst: 15 (I. iii. 34) 
conveyance: 14 (I. iii. 2) 
cooling card: 91 (V. iii. 84) 
cornets: 73 (IV. iii. 25) 
corrosive: 57 (III. iii. 3) 
court of guard: 25 (II. i. 4) 
crazy: 55 (III. ii. 89) 

darnel: 53 (III. ii. 44) 
Deborah, sword of: 12 (I. 

ii. 105) 
deck'd: 11 (I. ii. 99) 
degree: 38 (II. iv. Ill) 



158 



The First Part of 



despite: 54 (III. ii. 52) 
determin'd: 78 (IV. vi. 9) 
diffidence: 58 (III. iii. 10) 
digest: 69 (IV. i. 167) 
disable: 90 (V. iii. 67) 
disanimates: 50 (III. i. 182) 
discipline: 71 (IV. ii. 44) 
discover: 41 (II. v. 59) 
disease: 41 (II. v. 44) 
dismay: 57 (III. iii. 1) 
distrain'd: 16 (I. iii. 61) 
distress: 64 (IV. i. 37) 
dolphin or dogfish: 22 (I. iv. 

107) 
doubtless: 82 (IV. vii. 44) 
dreadful: 5 (I. i. 110) 

either hand: 71 (IV. ii. 23) 
elect: 63 (IV. i. 4) 
employ: 58 (III. iii. 16) 
enter talk: 46 (III. i. 63) 
entertain'd: 19 (I. iv. 38) 
espials: 18 (I. iv. 8) 
event: 104 (V. v. 105) 
excursion: 53 (III. ii. 35 

S. d.) 
exempt: 37 (II. iv. 93) 
exequies: 57 (III. ii. 133) 
exigent: 39 (II. v. 9) 
express: 20 (I. iv. 64) 
extirped: 58 (III. iii. 24) 

face: 93 (V. iii. 141) 
fact: 64 (IV. i. 30) 
familiar: 56 (III. ii. 122) 
fancv: 91 (V. iii. 91) 
feature: 103 (V. v. 68) 
fell: 89 (V. iii. 42) 
field . . . dispatch'd: 4 (Li. 

72) 
flourish: 8 (I. ii. S. d.) 
fond: 33 (II. iii. 45) 
for: 89 (V. iii. 48) 
France his: 78 (IV. vi. 3) 
full scarce: 5 (I. i. 112) 
furnish'd: 64 (IV. i. 39) 



gather: 42 (II. v. 96) 
gather up: 104 (V. v. 93) 
giglot: 82 (IV. vii. 41) 
gimmors: 9 (I. ii. 41) 
gird: 48 (III. i. 131) 
girt: 50 (III. i. 170) 
give: 23 (I. v. 29) 
gleeks: 57 (III. ii. 123) 
Goliases: 9 (I. ii. 33) 
grows to: 100 (V. iv. 149) 
grudge: 50 (III. i. 175) 
grudging stomachs: 68 (IV. 

i. 141) 
guardant: 80 (IV. vii. 9) 

Hannibal, like: 23 (I. v. 21) 
hard-favour'd: 81 (IV. vii. 

23) 
have with thee: 38 (II. iv. 

114) 
head: 21 (I. iv. 100) 
Hecate: 54 (III. ii. 64) 
high terms: 11 (I. ii. 93) 
high-minded: 23 (I. v. 12) 
his: 1 (I. i. 10) 
hungry: 9 (I. ii. 28) 

immanity: 84 (V. i. 13) 
immodest: 67 (IV. i. 126) 
imperious: 45 (III. i. 44) 
inkhorn mate: 47 (III. i. 99) 
intermissive: 4 (I. i. 88) 
invention: 44 (III. i. 5) 

latter: 40 (II. v. 38) 
lead: 3 (Li. 64) 
leave: 21 (I. iv. 81) 
lies: 30 (II. ii. 41) 
lift: 2 (I. i. 16) 
like: 80 (IV. vi. 48) 
lingering: 75 (IV. iv. 19) 
linstock: 20 (I. iv. 56 S. d.) 
lither: 81 (IV. vii. 21) 
long of: 73 (IV. iii. 33) 
louted: 72 (IV. iii. 13) 
lowly: 59 (III. iii. 47) 
lucre: 100 (V. iv. 141) 



King Henry the Sixth 



159 



Machiavel: 97 (V. iv. 74) 
marish: 3 (I. i. 50) 
market-bell: 52 (III. ii. 16) 
Mars his true moving: 8 (I. 

ii. 1) 
masters: 49 (III. i. 144) 
maz'd: 71 (IV. ii. 47) 
mean: 12 (I. ii. 121) 
method of my pen: 44 (III. 

i. 13) 
misconceived: 97 (V. iv. 49) 
misconster: 34 (II. iii. 73) 
miser: 95 (V. iv. 7) 
monarch of the north: 88 

(V. iii. 6) 
most extremes: 64 (IV. i. 

38) 
motions: 17 (I. iii. 63) 
muleters: 54 (III. ii. 68) 
muse: 29 (II. ii. 19) 
must be: 20 (I. iv. 68) 

nephew: 41 (II. v. 64) 
noble: 96 (V. iv. 23) 
nor: 8 (I. ii. 17) 

objected: 36 (II. iv. 43) 
objections: 67 (IV. i. 129) 
obstacle: 95 (V. iv. 17) 
occasions: 49 (III. i. 154) 
Olivers and Rowlands: 9 (I. 

ii. 30) 
only in: 21 (I. iv. 97) 
order: 57 (III. ii. 1*26) 
other: 26 (II. i. 32) 
other whiles: 8 (I. ii. 7) 
out of hand: 55 (III. ii. 102) 
overpeer: 18 (I. iv. 11) 

pale: 71 (IV. ii. 45) 
park'd: 71 (IV. ii. 45) 
partaker: 38 (II. iv. 100) 
party: 35 (II. iv. 32) 
patronage: 45 (III. i. 48) 
peeFd: 15 (I. iii. 30) 
peevish: 94 (V. iii. 185) 
periapts: 87 (V. iii. 2) 



period: 70 (IV. ii. 17) 
peruse their wings: 71 (IV. 

ii. 43) 
pitch: 33 (II. iii. 55) 
pitch a field: 48 (III. i. 103) 
platforms: 28 (II. i. 77) 
poison'd: 99 (V. iv. 121) 
policy: 51 (III. ii. 2) 
practisants: 52 (III. ii. 20) 
practise: 26 (II. i. 25) 
prate: 67 (IV. i. 124) 
prejudice: 61 (III. iii. 91) 
presently: 33 (II. iii. 60) 
pretend (purpose) : 63 (IV. 

i. 6) 
pretend (portend): 65 (IV. 

i. 54) 
prevented: 65 (IV. i. 71) 
pride of France: 53 (III. ii. 

40) 
privilege: 48 (III. i. 121) 
proditor: 15 (I. iii. 31) 
progeny: 60 (III. iii. 61) 
proper: 89 (V. iii. 37) 
pursuivants: 39 (II. v. 5) 
puzzel: 22 (I. iv. 107) 
pyramis: 25 (I. vi. 21) 

quaint: 66 (IV. i. 102) 
quell: 7 (Li. 163) 
quillets: 35 (II. iv. 17) 
quittance: 26 (II. i. 14) 

raging- wood: 81 (IV. vii. 

35) 
rascal-like: 72 (IV. ii. 49) 
redress: 71 (IV. ii. 25) 
reflex: 98 (V. iv. 87) 
regard: 77 (IV. v. 22) 
reguerdon: 50 (III. i. 169) 
repugn: 66 (IV. i. 94) 
resolved: 62 (III. iv. 20) 
retreat: 24 (I. v. 39 S. d.) 
reverent: 45 (III. i. 49) 
Rhodope's of Memphis: 25 

(I. vi. 22) 



160 



King Henry the Sixth 



riddling merchant: 33 (II. 

iii. 57) 
rive: 71 (IV. ii. 29) 
Roan: 3 (I. i. 65) 

Saint Martin's summer: 13 

(I. ii. 131) 
Scythian Tomyris: 31 (II. 

iii. 6) 
secure: 26 (II. i. 11) 
sennet: 51 (III. i. 185 S. d.) 
sequestration: 40 (II. v. 25) 
several: 4 (I. i. 71) 
sibyls: 10 (I. ii. 56) 
significants: 35 (II. iv. 26) 
sire of Crete: 80 (IV. vi. 

54) 
sleeping neglection: 74 (IV. 

iii. 49) 
smear'd: 80 (IV. vii. 3) 
some order: 57 (III. ii. 126) 
sometime: 85 (V. i. 31) 
sort (vb.) : 32 (II. iii. 27) 
sort (n.): 64 (IV. i. 39) 
spelling: 89 (V. iii. 31) 
stern, at chief est: 7 (I. i. 

177) 
still: 9 (I. ii. 42) 
stomachs: 68 (IV. i. 141) 
style: 65 (IV. i. 50); 83 

(IV. vii. 72) 
subscribe: 36 (II. iv. 44) 
substitutes: 87 (V. iii. 5) 



taint: 94 (V. iii. 182) 
Talbonites: 52 (III. ii. 28) 
tendering: 80 (IV. vii. 10) 
timeless: 95 (V. iv. 5) 
to: 52 (III. ii. 25) 
town, the very: 74 (IV. iv. 

4) 
toy: 68 (IV. i. 145) 
traffic: 94 (V. iii. 163) 
train'd: 32 (II. iii. 35) 
triumph: 102 (V. v. 31) 

unapt: 92 (V. iii. 132) 
unavoided: 76 (IV. v. 8) 
unkind: 70 (IV. i. 193) 
unready: 27 (II. i. 39) 

vail: 88 (V. iii. 25) 
vulture of sedition: 74 (IV. 
iii. 47) 

warrant: 42 (II. v. 95) 
warranteth: 97 (V. iv. 61) 
warrantize: 14 (I. iii. 13) 
Winchester goose: 16 (I. iii. 

53) 
with (by): 6 (I. i. 136) 
withal: 6 (I. i. 154) 
within: 68 (IV. i. 140) 
wont: 8 (I. ii. 14) 
worthless: 75 (IV. iv. 21) 
writhled: 32 (II. iii. 23) 



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